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When in India’s sunshine state, be prepared to fall in love with sandy beaches, palm-fringed shores and beachfront Portuguese bungalows. Goa will never fail to entice you with its landscapes peppered with paddy fields, coconut groves, windy cliffs and riverside forts. While the southern part of the state is a haven for tourists seeking quiet days spent by the tranquil seaside, northern Goa tourism is known primarily because of its bustling shacks and a legendary nightlife.
From the umpteen number of places to visit in Goa, a few that most definitely shouldn’t be missed are the Fontainhas – India’s only existing Latin quarters, the 17th century old Bom Jesus Basilica; to revel in a little bohemian spirit, the vibrant Wednesday flea market at Anjuna Beach, and Dudhsagar – India’s second highest waterfall. But if you’re here simply to unwind, there’s no dearth of things to enjoy. Starting with spotting a dolphin or two at the Palolem beach, marveling at the routinely glorious sunsets at Chapora fort, taking leisurely strolls through the mossy ruins of St. Augustine in Old Goa or simply soaking in the salty tropical breeze with platefuls of butter garlic prawns, bebinca and a few too many rum and cokes, with a side of jazz and Konkani music
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It is a waterfall located on the Mandovani river and is one of the tallest waterfalls in India (about 310mts) and is about 60ksm from Panaji and forms the border between Karnataka and Goa and has a rich variety of flora and fauna.

It is a waterfall located on the Mandovani river and is one of the tallest waterfalls in India (about 310mts) and is about 60ksm from Panaji and forms the border between Karnataka and Goa and has a rich variety of flora and fauna.

One of the most exquisite waterfalls, the Dudhsagar waterfalls is located in the Bhagwan Mahavir Wild Life Sanctuary at Collem in South Goa in the Western Ghats. The site is very popular for trekking and hiking, the fall overlooks a steep, crescent-shaped edge of a valley covered with beautiful tropical forest.

Dudhsagar waterfalls- 10/10 on the adventure and the effort to get to this waterfall. We rode about 60km from south to Dudhsagar and once you reach the parking lot, there is still another one hour to reach the waterfall, and for your info, they do not let you take your bike/car, there are guys who are hired to take people on pillions in their bikes towards the waterfall, since there are no roads constructed for vehicles, its almost tarmac/crazy sandy area by the side of the railway track and through the forest. After an hour of riding through the forests, there is another 15 minutes of trekking towards the waterfall. Throughout this journey I was only hoping that the waterfalls better be ‘worth’ all this effort in caps lock. But let me break the ice and tell you that when you finally reach Dudhsagar, you are /walking through/standing on a railway track wherein one side you can see the falls and the other you can see with 100s of locals from Karnataka and Goa. The falls it ain’t that pretty a scene, although from an helicopter shot, the view might be splendid ( If you want to see for yourself, watch the Indian movie ‘Chennai Express’ shot here). If Goa gets too dry for you with only beaches and beaches, this place is a must-go atleast for its adventure.
P.S: Make sure you have spaced out an entire day for this waterfall .Drink enough water, cos after you reach the parking lot, you will find refreshments only once you reach the waterfall arena and also you do not want to wait till you reach there to have lunch cos you really don’t want to eat from there. Period!

Dudhsagar falls is situated in Collem National Park i.e.. 24 kms away from Ponda. After reaching Collem, we hired bikes along with the riders that take you to the Dudhsagar Falls. Yes, the same location where the film Chennai Express was shot. The road towards Dudhsagar was rocky, muddy, narrow and slippery but my rider and Yamaha FZ made it safe for me. Also, my past off-road experience helped me a lot. It was a thorough adrenaline rush. The cold breeze brushing past our cheeks; the sky frowning with the dark clouds; the drizzle made the ride more adventurous. The lush green paddy fields, the river bulging with water flowing under the bridge, the wet long winding roads, the beautiful birds, wild insects, frogs and crickets making sounds, seems they were singing a welcome song for the rains. The clouds emerging like a smoke from the mountains seemed so romantic. After seeing the breath-taking view of Dudhsagar Falls, I felt accomplished.
The riders were locals who stayed in Collem village. My rider was Jayesh aka Prince Knight (his facebook name). They were innocent, honest people and took utmost care about our safety. They guided us properly through the rough terrain of the sanctuary.

There was a buzz of activity. I made it to the Dudhsagar falls in good time. 15kms in 4 hours! There was a flood of people who had alighted at the Dudhsagar railway station which is just about a kilometer from the falls. It’s usually, preferred by people who want to view the monstrous falls with their families, friends and kids without having to endure the walk from Castle Rock. [ But I do have a general request to the folks visiting the place. It's all great that you go and visit the place but please refrain from polluting the place. Please do understand that it's not a garbage yard that you can throw empty plastic bottles and containers and wrappers there as you go for a nice little picnic.
mist sprayed into the atmosphere. The milky white waterfall roared and gushed down the rocky face. The green carpet encompassed the entire falls. And there I stood on the railway tracks made just a few feet away from the lavishing falls. It was majestic. It mighty. It was humongous. It just reminded me of the nature’s beauty and her sheer power. I am out of words at this juncture describing the awe that I experienced as I stood so tiny so powerless in front of the might and glory of the falls. Usually, hikers camp by the falls overnight, before they set out the next day on their return walk. Families walk back to the Dudhsagar Railway station to catch a return train. Hitch-hikers hop onto goods locomotives to carry them to the next closest major railway station. I had chalked out a different set of plans. I stayed put by the falls for an hour before I picked up my soaking boots and bags as I started walking towards the Goan side.
A little ahead about half a kilometer into the walk is the view that people talk about when they hear Dudhsagar. Its an incredible view of the fizzing falls taking the plunge at an incredible force into unfathomable depths. If you are lucky you could witness a locomotive dredge slowly along the track with the falls in the background.
It was pouring again and I had to cover another 11kms. This part of the trail is a lot quieter, through lesser number of tunnels and lesser number of enterprising walking stretches but the wind blew and the rains poured as I slowly made my way to Sonaulim Railway station. The walk- on the tracks, in the rains had started taking its toll on my calf muscles. Dredging along I made it to Kullem just as the dusk was creeping in. And so I there I was sitting on the bench, waiting for my train to carry me back to Bangalore with thoughts running wild in my head.

The Dudhsagar Waterfalls, located high up on the Mandovi River’s watershed, remain quiet for most part of the year and spring to life during the rainy season. Beholding the gushing water leap from the edge of towering cliffs and cascade down the slippery worn out slope is a sobering experience. If one is lucky one can witness a train crawl on the viaduct framed against the rising spray of water emanating from the waterfall. A camping site sits a few yards from the viaduct; at night the pitter patter of rain and the thudding of the trains are a lullaby to the tired trekkers.

Apart from being a useful mode of transportation the Ghat section of the railway line also harks back to olden times. Buildings in varied states of disrepair are all that remains of the government apparatus that once stood here on the border of British India and Portuguese Goa. Moss and lichen have taken over lonely dilapidated structures along the railway track. The ruins at Castle Rock reminisce the days when weary travelers crossing the border lined up in the offices for immigration checks.

Night stay at the resort after an exhausting trek. The resort has options to stay in tents and rooms. We selected tents. That was a mistake. The tents had very dim lights. No doors to the toilet. The toilet was separated by a curtain from rest of the room. Please for the rooms if you chose to stay here. Food not so great.

A must visit for everyone. The spectacular part of this waterfalls is that we you have a look at the train over bridge and as the water falls from the mountain and also the walk along the train track and tunnel view is simple awesome

We left our bikes at Kadumane and took a jeep to Castlerock railway station and then took a train till Dudhsagar railway station. We trekked to reach the falls which was at its full might.
I will recommend you go here only during the monsoon season.
We had packed lunch on the sidelines of the railway track with rains giving us company through out.

The multi-tiered Dudhsagar falls are a sight to see and the encompassing forests have this mystical air about them. The 600 metre long waterfall looks more a cascading stream of milk and like a dozen other geographical beauties in India, there are several intriguing legends associated with it. Monsoons are the best time to visit. Swim for as long as you can and make merry!

All trains stop at this now-defunct railway station for a few minutes to prepare for the uphill climb forward. We took this opportunity to get off here along with many other people. There is no platform at this station so we had to jump off from the train. From here we started walking on the railway track. The Doodhsagar waterfall is a 1 km walk from here.

The waterfall is so massive that one cannot get the whole thing in one frame from this bridge. We had to walk another 1 km towards Kulem to get the view of the entire waterfall. We took loads of pictures here and then continued walking on the railway track.

We continued our 12 km trek on the railway track. At some places we wandered off to the adjecent forest and found mini streams, waterfalls and river. We took snack breaks and ate the packed food that we had. Near Caranzol we also found a shop where we had tea and chips and asked for boiled water to have our Cuppa Noodles.

Soon, the morning sun rays moved the fog gently away to give us a clearer view of the falls. Photographs of the waterfalls, do not do justice to the experience of standing in front of Dudhsagar Falls. The spray from the falls drenched me instantly. We were standing on the railway bridge in front of the falls, where the iconic photo of Dudhsagar waterfalls is taken. I could not take my eyes off the falls even for a moment. Monsoon is the best time to visit the falls. The milky white water gushes down the rocks with a terrifying force. The mist that rises up from the falls, creates a rainbow in the shining sun.

Sometimes, life gives us sudden surprises. It depends on how we react to those situations and how calmly we try to handle something which has gone wide of the mark. We can either make the most of it or waste time cribbing and throwing tantrums. Something similar happened when we started for the most awaited trek of the year, “The Dudhsagar Waterfall and Jungle Trek”.

We headed to visit Dudhsagar falls some 54 kms from Benaulim, a place known for a majestic waterfall and a railway route that passes dissecting it, somewhat an abode for the photographers and the insta doers.Word of advice - Looking for breakfast before you head there, advisable have it in your hotel or near your place of stay since not many good joints would fall on the way.The route is equally scenic, wouldn’t disappoint at any moment. You would need to leave your car behind when you are 10kms from the waterfall since then onwards there are other cars and special drivers who take you forward amidst dense forest.Dudhsagar falls, provides you with an avenue where you can take a dip in the water just at the foot of the falls, hence in case interested please do not forget to carry a set of extra clothes.Post our visit there, one of many famous restaurants of Goa i.e. The Martin’s Corner was our next stop. The restaurant is located at Belbatim, Goa (South Goa) and the same boasts of amazing food, live music and some good alcohol.

We trekked to Dudhsagar camp and awaited for the next morning to head towards the spectacular Dudhsagar waterfall. Dudhsagar camp had a stream nearby where all of us went for a refreshing bath and played to our heart's content. Water so fresh and clean that we didn't feel the need for any lotions to soothe our skin.

However, we could see the majestic Dushsagar waterfall in the moonlit night from the train. It was absolutely mesmerizing. It is just not called Dudhsagar (Ocean of Milk). There is a reason behind that. The waterfall really appeared milky white against the backdrop of the full moon light. And it took our breaths away. :)We had our tickets till Kulem so rest of us got down at Kulem station.Now, with Plan A not been able to make the grade, we waited for the unexpected. Shilpa, Sandesh and Sanket were continuously co-ordinating with Manoj and trying to figure out what could be done next. There was not much time left to go backwards because of the distance (14 x 2 kms to and fro). There were many first timers and hence, we could not have completed the trek within the calculated time if started from Kulem.After having tea and coffee, we came up with Plan B. An unexplored Jungle trek to Tamdi Surla Waterfall.That’s it. The best unplanned surprise of life awaited us at a distance of 22 kms from Kulem. (Early morning JUGAADS helped)Vehicles arranged. Engines came to life. We started off to explore the unknown. With monsoon at it’s peak, it was happy green everywhere. We reached Tamdi Surla in 30 mins.The gates of the Mahadev temple were closed. It was supposed to open for public after 8:00. We decided to head towards the waterfall instead.The trek is entirely through a dense forest. Several water streams on the way. Some small and some with strong water current. We could hear the roar of the water from far. The trail was simply breathtaking. We located many colourful mormons and millipedes.Crossing streams, Walking through the dark under the green tunnels, walking on the bamboo bunches spread across. Experiencing the sting of thorny leaves and branches. The thorns penetrating deep into the skin. Blood oozing in attempt of removing the thorns which were too small to locate.

The rail trek is full of stones from the start till the end, So my suggestion would be to wear a good trekking shoe if you are going for this trek. We reached Dudhsagar Waterfalls at around 4:00 PM. It's about 14 KM from Castle Rock to Dudhsagar, but you will never feel tired if the weather is good and It was good for us. After reaching to the waterfall you have to trek around a kilometre to reach the view-point.We continued our trek even after the view-point instead of returning to Dudhsagar. We trekked till the Sonaulim Station and then boarded another train and reached Kulem. That's another interesting story how we boarded the train in Sonaulim. We had booking in Dudhsagar Spa Resort which is around 6 KM from Kulem. Then, we booked a cab from Kulem Station and reached there.It's a nice place to stay. We stayed in tents. Tents were good &amp; well maintained. Food was good, they had a dancing floor as well along with the bar/restaurant. Overall our stay was good at the resort. They had Spa and other activities as well but, with extra charges. We didn't had much time to check them out.

I was not done though. The cherry on the cake was the huge expanse of Dudhsagar waterfalls that I saw from my train to Pune. And a train bogie that had been over turned and slipped from the rail routes decades ago all rusted, where the vines and shrubs had accommodated themselves in the compartments. Adaptability is the key to survival and this was a living example of it. This tour had taught me a lot. I started seeing the urge to live right from the Signature Spider to the Gray Pansy that had just been caught in its web. I started respecting life. As the train speeded through taking me back to the urban life, I was lost in the memories of the past week; silently making a promise to myself. The promise of coming back to this paradise soon! - SUSHRUT KARMARKAR The author is a Mechanical Engg student; An amateur photographer and a nerd in love with nature and wildlife. He is associated with MidEarth as a wildlife expert. All the pictures in this article are clicked by Sushrut Karmarkar.

Trip to Dudhsagar Goa It is said that destiny has its own way of fulfilling our wishes;at the outset we may not findpattern in events but after some time we get to know that there is a plan.Reason to remember this quote because friends have their own way of doing and planning things which we cannot comprehend.same is true for this exciting trip to Dudhsagar Waterfall.We planned this trip with help extensive research done by my friend Mahesh Thombare.We had no idea of what this trek[not actually trek but walk] was,but we agreed to this adventure. So First things first lets get to know about Dudhsagar Waterfall it is located at

Dudhsagar waterfall is one of the highest waterfall in India. It has a total height of 306 meters and a width of 30 meters. The waterfall lies in the southern part of Goa at Mollem, towards the border with Karnataka state. It forms a part of Mandovi river, Goa. Dudhsagar means 'Sea of milk' in konkani(regional language of Goa). It gets this name because when you look at it, it like an overflowing sea of milk.There is an interesting legend attached behind to this name. Here it goes- Once upon a time there was a Princess, daughter of a wealthy and powerful king of western ghats, who used to enjoy bathing at a lake nearby. After bath, it was her habit to drink to drink jugful of sweetened milk. The jug made up of pure gold. One day while enjoying her jug of milk she found herself being watched by a Prince. Embarrassed by her inadequate attire she poured the sweetened milk to from an improvised curtain to hide her body, while one of her maids rushed to cover her with a dress. The sweetened milk cascades down the mountain slope to this day as tribute to the virtue and modesty of the Princess.

Goa’s iconic Dudhsagar falls is in its full glory during the rains which is one of the most amazing monsoon activities in Goa. Its powerful gush becomes almost dizzying! Stand close too close to it could get you completely drenched. You can reach the falls either by train or by road through Panaji or Madgaon. And if your young bones are screaming out for more you could also trek up the falls.Make sure to get a rented scooter to ride in the rains at just 175/-Goa is the first state in India were in one can register car, bike or other vehicle on line from the dealers directly which started in June'06 and one needs not go to R.T.O. for registration.Goa is the only place where one can hire a two wheeler taxi called “pilots”.

• The Dudhsagar Fall :- The Dudhsagar Falls, located in the Mollem National Park is a must-visit during the monsoon when the waters are in full flow• Spice Plantations :- Not something one immediately associates with Goa, but the spice plantations at Savoi-Verem are a popular attraction in the state. The main spices grown here are Cloves, Cinnamon, Cardamom, Nutmeg, Ginger and Pepper. Recommended highly by the locals, the Savoi Plantations come alive beautifully during the monsoon and this is one of the best times to visit them

In monsoon the must visit place in Goa is Dudhsagar Falls. It is Located in Goa - Karnataka Border. If you love to trek this place is a must visit. In monsoon Dudhsagar has the full flow of water which is a magnificent view.

“No one will be allowed to go to the falls or alight at the Doodhsagar station. The train will stop only at Kulem (the first station after the waterfall) once it starts from here.“, said the RPF Jawan through the PAS.Access to the Doodhsagar falls has been banned, I learn after some asking around. Even though this meant that my entire trek was now in jeopardy, I was not surprised by this to be honest. With the kind of reckless activities that have been going on in and around the falls since some time now, leading to multiple deaths due to drowning, a ban here was just a matter of time. Sadly.The quaint station of Castlerock hardly sees a handful of people at a time so with hundreds of people at once, the place looked very much out of capacity. Staying there was not something me and my travel-mates wanted to do. Neither did we want to go back, not that there was any option anyway. So we decided to take our chances and began our walk without any further ado.Minutes after we had started it was calm all around. Most of the crowd seemingly did not like the idea of walking for hours and stayed behind, much to our joy. You see, fewer people means you can take-in the beauty around you without the shrieks and shouting of the over-excited ‘tourists’. Very soon walking along the tracks which snaked away into the greenery started calling for more attention. The trails on both sides of the track became narrower as we moved ahead and coupled with the slippery surface, we were just one slip away from falling in the jungle below most of the time.As we trudged along mostly balancing ourselves on the tracks and rarely off it, the rains kept playing hide &amp; seek with us. No sooner had we put-on our rain coats to save us from the unexpected heavy showers, the bright sun would come right up. Then, as soon as the perspired us were done with the painful process of unloading the back-pack, taking-off the rain-wear and putting it back in the bag, the rain gods once again used to smile mischievously. This kept on repeating until we finally decided to walk with our rain coats on, whether it rained or not.Walking through the lush greenery on both sides, I couldn’t help but be amazed at the beauty of the these deep forests. The monsoon clouds kept us company as we walked past numerous milky white streams flowing below the tracks at random intervals.Except for the occasional trains which showed up from one side of the deep forests and got lost in the other in no time, the only things that broke the monotony of our walk were the age-old tunnels and bridges. They always made us excited. Their rustic nature and rickety look was like a glimpse of the olden time and we always spent sometime to take-in their beauty at such places.Crossing the dark tunnels were fun and scary at the same time as well. Even more so, when a train came along while you are just half way through a 200 meter long tunnel. This is what happened to me.I was almost 100 meters or so inside one of the tunnels when I heard the loud blare of a train entering as it entered the tunnel. Not sure about what to do and being sure about the fact that trying to race the train was not a great idea, I decided to turn around facing the wall and stick to it. Standing on whatever narrow space that existed between the wall and the track I waited until the train passed.We were not allowed to walk beyond the nondescript station of Caranzol, a station where hardly any trains stopped. As we re-traced our steps back to Castlerock, I couldn’t help but notice how different the same forests which we crossed just few hours back looked under different colored clouds and even more over-cast sky. A darker shade of green with hovering gray clouds above.This trip was originally published in Rajiv Verma's Travel and Lifestyle Blog on October 29, 2015.

Dudh sagar trek is one of the most thrilling trek, it doesn't come under karnataka but still I think it should be mentioned here. The trek to the falls has been banned from 2016, I had been there in 2015.9. Nishani motte

Witness the forces of nature at The Dudhsagar Falls. An interesting fact about India is that some of the most underrated spots here make the best site for exploration. The Dudhsagar Falls attain their greatest might during the monsoon season and it makes for a sight that is sure to amaze you with its beauty.

Dudhsagar Falls:Dudhsagar Falls is a four-tiered waterfall located on the Mandovi River in the border of the Indian state of Goa and Karnataka.And If you are going from Chennai or Bangalore via train then you will witness some stunning views of the waterfalls from the train itself.If you are attracted to stories then this is a place.There is an old legend that centers around the name of the falls. The tale goes that there was once a princess who was the daughter of the King of the Ghats. This young lady was as modest as she was beautiful and believed in the purity of heart, mind and body. The legend goes on that she used to bathe in the lake near her father's castle every day. After her bath, she and her handmaidens would congregate on the shores of the lake whilst the princess consumed a jug of milk. The jug, it is said was wrought of pure gold and inlaid with sparkling diamonds. One day, as the princess was drinking her milk, a young and handsome prince was making his way through the nearby woods. On hearing the laughter and chatter of the ladies, he stopped to have a look. The princess was much abashed by her scanty bathing attire and her handmaidens poured the milk in a cascade in front of her, thus creating a curtain behind which she could don her clothes. This cascade of milk, which preserved the modesty of the princess, is the namesake of the Dudhsagar falls. You can reach this falls by taking a train from Vasco or Madagon to Dudhsagar station and take a 1km trek to the base of the falls or you can Hire a cab.

Remember that gorgeous waterfall from the film Chennai Express!? Of course you do! It's name is Dudh sagar Waterfall and it is located in the goa state of India.Dudh Sagar Waterfall is one of the highest water falls in India, and among the hundred highest waterfalls in the world. It lies in the southern part of Goa at Mollem, towards the border with Karnataka state. Dudh Sagar, literally means a Sea of Milk in the local Konkanni language, and gets its name as it appears like an overflowing sea of milk. It has a total height of 306 meters and a width of 30 meters. The water fall is at its peak flow during the monsoon months from June to September and wanes out towards the summers from March to june.

The real trek however doesn’t start until you reach Dudhsagar Falls. The waterfall that is usually a thick plunging stream during the tourist season becomes a raging monster and comes true to its name. The waterfall crosses all the boundaries and floods the entire region. It is as scary as hell to complete the final 15 minutes of the trek. They asked me to grab a thin but sturdy steel rope and cross over towards the fall. I was scared to death and almost refused. Imagine if I had refused and wouldn’t have come across this beautiful view.

Can we really make it to the Doodhsagar Waterfall? Even after reading a lot of negative comments on the Internet, me and my cousin Saurabh Mehra (Little Child we call him ;-)) decided to discover this magnificent place (also featured in the popular film Chennai Express) come what may. We took a chance, did some basic research by gathering online information and headed straight to Pune on 24-June-2017, our first pit stop. BOOM!!After reaching Pune at around 10:30 PM, we rushed to buy tickets to Kulem, Goa. Our train was scheduled at 4:30 PM and we decided to utilize our time by wandering in the vicinity of the city. The Beer Lover inside me whispered that Pune has a well-known craft brewery named “Independence Brewery”. Why not utilize the time to drink some fresh craft beer and kickstart our second phase with a colder belly? I had 2-3 varieties, the taste of beer was one of the best I’ve ever had (this type of quality beer I haven’t even come across in Mumbai so far), the ambience was good and after the mild drinking program, some gyaan from the master brewer about brewing, we headed back to the station for the train journey.The train took around 13-14 hrs and reached Kulem at about 6 AM. After enquiring the locals about the route towards the waterfall, they gave us a cold shoulder saying that “Waterfall ka raasta bandh hai, ghar jao”. But, we were determined to go there and some other people in groups also joined us as our destination and route was the same. Then, the walk towards the waterfall for 14 Kms on railway track was started after some hot tea and we enjoyed nature’s beauty, clicked some photographs, witnessed mild rainfall and passed scary tunnels en route, and finally reached a point from where we could clearly see the Doodhsagar Falls in full swing. It was a 3-4-hrs journey.Our first words were: B, yeh dekh. Aaisa lag rahahai k doodh aasmaan se gir raha hai (It seems that milk is flowing straight from the sky).” Our eyes were stunned after our first look and we wanted to see it from close. After walking a few steps, we were stopped by the GRP guards and they forced us to return back and repeatedly kept saying that “Doodhsagar dekhne ka season October se May tak ka hai, tum andar gaye toh 1 person k upar 2,000 ka fine lagega”.We all then started pleading them saying that,Itne door se aaye hain aur itna pass aakar aaplog wapas bhej rahe ho? After some heated argument and promising that we will make both of them happy with a return gift, they allowed us for 15-20 minutes over there, and our risky step got converted into closely seeing the 4th largest waterfalls in India and the 100th largest in the world. We took a lot of pictures out of excitement, thanked the guards and started our journey back to Kulem.…Abhi picture baaki haiWe started to walk back to Kulem station after spending about 15-20 minutes at the falls and to our surprise a goods train stopped to give us lift (this was what we thought). The inspectors inside the train grilled both of us that “Tum fall pe gaye the? Kahaan se aaye ho tum?” We were yelled at by them for waking on the railway track, which is prohibited, and they angrily told us to get down from the train at Sanaulim station. We got down from the left side of the train and as the goods train was too long, we didn’t want to wait for the whole train to pass and we leaned down from one bogie and came to the right side of it. The train started and to our surprise we were called by the same GRP guards stationed at the falls (as they were returning from their duty) and they told us to board the train. We thanked them for allowing us to get in and ran towards the bridge of Kulem station (as soon as it reached) out of fear that the police personnel who yelled at us, was watching us closely and might take some action on us.Then we took a bus to Madgaon (which tested our patience for about an hour) and reached by about 4:15 PM to Madgaon Station. We were surprised to know that reservation counters are closed on Sundays everywhere! So we had to make do with general tickets. We also got shocked that the information regarding Kokan-Kanya train by M-Indicator (mobile app for trains) was incorrect and the train was scheduled to leave Madgaon by 4:45 PM instead of 6 PM (as reported by M-Indicator). We boarded the general compartment and found a seat where we could barely fit in. We reached Thane station by about 5 AM the next day.But ultimately, our trip, with all its inconveniences and hurdles, turned out to be more exciting than we had expected, full of fun and surprises. It was a really beautiful experience and I surely want to visit this majestic waterfall again.Thank you everyone for reading patiently about my experience on this trip. I’ll try to keep posting about my journeys like this one and hope to be of some help to those who are looking to make such trips.Wanderer, Pratik.

1. Dudhsagar WaterfallThis waterfall definitely needs no introduction. One of the highest waterfalls in India (310 m), located in Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary at Goa-Karnataka border literally looks like ‘ocean of milk’ in monsoon.

This is a very well preserved fort which was built in the 17th Century by the Portuguese. The fort was made as the most important building of the Portuguese colonials and they always wanted to save it against the Dutch and the Maratha rulers. It is in the Candolin area on the Sinquerim Beach. The location of the fort on the banks of the Mandovi River makes it look even more beautiful. The fort covers a large area and almost covers the whole tip land of the Bardez Peninsula. At present there is also a holiday resort built here by the tatas and is a beautiful place to stay for a peaceful vacation. It is also close to the Candolim Beach and the shopping and eating areas around. This was at one time the most important port where most of the ferries and boats landed and left from and thus the name Aguada meaning 'water'.

This is a very well preserved fort which was built in the 17th Century by the Portuguese. The fort was made as the most important building of the Portuguese colonials and they always wanted to save it against the Dutch and the Maratha rulers. It is in the Candolin area on the Sinquerim Beach. The location of the fort on the banks of the Mandovi River makes it look even more beautiful. The fort covers a large area and almost covers the whole tip land of the Bardez Peninsula. At present there is also a holiday resort built here by the tatas and is a beautiful place to stay for a peaceful vacation. It is also close to the Candolim Beach and the shopping and eating areas around. This was at one time the most important port where most of the ferries and boats landed and left from and thus the name Aguada meaning 'water'.

A much welcome change from the flurry of beaches in Goa, Aguada fort still has a lingering presence in it back from the days when it used to serve as a prison.
Tour of the entire place takes less than 2 hours and overlooking the Arabian sea is a pleasant experience.

After exploring the calmness of South Goa, I went ahead to witness the madness of North Goa. My first spot Fort Aguada is possibly the largest and the best-preserved Portuguese bastion in Goa. A very interesting thing about the fort is a 13 metre high lighthouse, which looks down over the vast expanse of sea, sand and palm tress. It’s definitely worth visiting!

The #Lighthouse and #Aguada Fortress is a good spot to view the #Arabian Sea. Its a 17th century Portuguese fort used for defense. From being used during war to being used as a prison for drug use, this fort has quite a history, I only wonder if there are some spirits still guarding the place.
On the Aguada-Siolim road, you can also stop for Go-karting.

Aguada Fort: 9/10 only cos’ it dates back to many years(1612) built by the Portuguese to provide water supply to the ships that stopped by and has lighthouse. The compound is quite huge and when you walk by each floor, will have its own history. The fort has a splendid view overlooking the sinquerim beach, the arabian sea and whole bunch of greenery, from atop . The one thing I noticed here was that the tourists who came here were mostly brown people and most whites were at the beach, I assume its because of the hype that the Bollywood industry has created here with the movie ‘Dil Chahta Hai’.

Its a must visit fort. It has a light house also. It was built by Portuguese in 1613. Many people visit here. The drive till here was really amazing.
Entry fee: NIL
How to Reach: 17 Kms from Vagator Beach
Recommended Length of Visit: 1-2 hrs
Tips: Reach around 11am
Facts: Its a Fort cum lighthouse built by the Portuguese in 1613.

It's a seventeenth century Portugeuse Fort on Sinquerim Beach. It was built for clean water storage so that big ships could fill clean drinking water. That's why the fort is named Fort Aguada, 'Aguada' meaning water.

This is one of the sightseeing places in Goa. There is the lighthouse on this fort. Many bollywood movies are shot here. Whilst going to this place, you will come across Dolphin ride too. On my first trip to Goa, we had taken the dolphin ride and we didn't spot a single dolphin. We had paid 300rs just for 30mins boat ride. So this time I was sure that I am skipping the dolphin ride and so did my group fellows too. We visited this place in scorching midnoon heat so we visited the place, clicked pictures as fast as we could and left early as the heat was unbearable. I am sure the evening time would be better as the view of vast ocean from this place is incredible too.

We continued our journey and reached Aguada fort. On your way we visited the beaches of Baga and Calangute. Aguada fort is Portuguese fort of the seventeenth century that was used as a point of reference for ships coming from the European nations. The fort has a four storey lighthouse which was built in around 1864. It was considered to be a major stronghold of the Portuguese.

But when the first five star hotel, Taj Fort Aguada (now Vedanta by Taj), had opened in 1974, it was thought to be a highly risky bet. Conventional wisdom held that foreigners wouldn’t travel this far for a seaside holiday, and also that Indians would always remain solar phobes. So while that first resort dominated a pristine arc of beach, every other strip of sand in Goa was gloriously empty: no shacks, no touts, no rooms for rent. Hard to believe, isn’t it?All that changed rapidly when mass tourism took off. Without adequate planning in place, a veritable tsunami of concrete haphazardly overwhelmed much of the once – beautiful shoreline.Now Goa goes 24 hours, 365 days a year, cramming in almost three million tourists annually, more than doubling its population all through the high season. Now dozens of flights pour into the state from across India, and another thousand charters annually connect the state to a bewildering array of countries: Iran, Ukraine, Finland, and Taiwan.But even as the rustic has become overshadowed by rush hour, the fact is that most of Goa’s original charms are resolutely intact if you know where to look. Step slightly beyond the blinking neon of the main tourist drags, and a beguiling, diverse and unique cultural landscape unfolds right in front of you.And there’s a song at every turn.

Few kilometers away is Aguada fort and en-route to the fort, one comes across the church of St. Lawrence, the saint of the sailors where you would start believing in the idea of heaven as a place, as you stand on top of the hill staring at the Arabian sea where water shimmers like pearls when sunlight hits the surface of water.

On Thursday, it was Agora Fort or Aguada Fort. This old Portuguese fort stands on the beach south of Candolim, at the shore of the Mandovi River. There isn’t much to see here, but the view from the Fort is really good. There were a couple of old churches beside the Fort which were full with school kids, but you needn’t worry about not visiting, because in Goa you can’t go three blocks without a church staring at you.

My second day in Goa and i was heading for Aguada Fort early morning as i know the Sun would be crazy by afternoon. Aguada Fort was not much of a thing. Just a fort, fort!I couldn't wait to go to the beach, so we headed towards the beach. Beach, as usual, was awesome. *blush* (As if I was on a date with the beach.. ya, you can say that!) :P Beaches in Goa are beautiful.

Day 2 started with our planned trip to Fort Aguada, 15kms away from Tamarind and about half an hour drive. The fort provides with some fascinating view of Panaji and the Arabian Sea. Rich in history and still quite well maintained, the fort gives you ample opportunities to click some fabulous pictures.&nbsp;

Today we visited Fort Aguada the Portuguese fort near Sinquerim Beach and did some water sports , all the other beaches also have water sports but I usually prefer at Sinquerim Beach as its less crowded and you can more time and don’t have to wait much for your turn.

Next day(Sunday), we had arranged one taxi for sight seeing...So after having breakfast, we first went to Aguada Fort. Remember to take your hats, sunglasses, shawls and wear sunscreen once you go there..Its damn hot there.

12th Feb, next day, we hire a 2 wheeler and drive to the Aguada fort just after it closes down to our utter dismay. But, on the way back , our encounter with the cheap charlie hippie pub assures us why Goa is the land of chilled out people.Sushegad, i am reminded.

This fort is amongst the many preserved places to see in Goa and essays an era of yore filled with events. A Portuguese fort overlooking the Sinquerim Beach and the Arabian Sea, Fort Aguada was constructed in 1613 and since then it has become a prominent landmark or a reference point for ships visiting the Goan shores from Europe.Dona Paula

3.Less Bull Shit!Goa, surprisingly is blessed with people who are always chilled out. For instance, what happened with us was, we went for dinner somewhere in Candolim. The restaurant was posh, there was great live music, the interiors were great, the ambiance was super chilled, the foreigners seemed to enjoy every single thing inside the place, suddenly a stray dog enters into the restaurant and sits down near one end of a table. The mood remains the same, the whole crowd seems to be chilled out, no one creates any fuss! I just couldn't imagine the fuss which would have been created if it was some other part of the country. Chilled out people resulting to an even more chilled out vibe is a definite yes for me!

#Dil chahta hai swag - Agouda FortThis place is very popular among tourists due to hit Bollywood movie "Dil chahta hai" picturized here starring Amir khan. the perfect place for shutterbugs.walls are super classy and a lighthouse is just awesome, this is the place where everyone wants to visit with there friends and click this pose.

One of Goa's most famous places, Fort Aguada, is a little out of the way. This is also the place where my bag got stolen with all the belongings save for what I had in my handbag that I was carrying, so you know, extra memorable :P .

Woke up the next morning at 6.00 A.M and decided to go to the candolim Beach again. Got ready and left for the beach. Again it was so beautiful in the morning. The sound of the waves, the sun, the sand everything. We laid on the beach for few hours and me along with my friend decided to have a bath. Looking at the waves scared us so much but we gathered courage and move towards the waves. Woah! The waves when touched our whole body drifted us to the shore in nano seconds. We started laughing and enjoying. It continued for 20-25 minutes. The saline water and the sand scratched our knees so badly. Our body started getting tanned. But who cares. Sunrise at Candolim Beach

We reached Aguada fort and went straight to the wall facing the sea. Mr. Hubby was lost looking the wide sea and the green coconut tree while I balanced myself on the wall. And then he showed me my favourite site, the grey playing bunnies in sea. There is a sound just before dolphin’s jumps and then they jump in a group. I had seen dolphins during dolphin ride, but they are not themselves, in rains you see them dancing, playing, having fun.

The scooter ride to Aguada fort, located a few kilometers away from Calangute beach is one of the better and easiest rides you'd experience in Goa, with altitude rising, the roads are still very subtle and beautiful to ride on. The fort consists of large premises that are build at a good height and close in on roads on one side and sea on the other, providing just the perfect spot for enjoying some good evening weather and a good photo session.

I think it was beyond midnight when we decided to head back our room and sat around to gossip. It was around 3am when we left towards Fort Aguada, a night that I'll never forget. Except for the 8 of us there was not a single soul anywhere in the vicinity. Didn't particularly know the way and we ended up at a dead end which happened to be the gates of the Aguada Prison •creepy• It was probably the time coupled with the vibe but that place definitely gave us the creeps with weird stone statues and zero lights. Found our way to the fort and decided to camp there till sunrise. It took a while but what an absolutely splendid sunrise it was!

We reached Aguada Fort at around 5 pm. The fort overlooks the port of Dona Paula and the scenery from the top was mesmerising. The fort was actually built by the Portugese to hold off invasions from the Dutch and Marathas. Most of the fort now is in ruins and closed for tourists. Only the roof and a lighthouse is accessible.

In the next morning, after completed the breakfast in Alfran Beach Resort, we vacated the room started to visit the Fort Aguada. The fort was constructed in 1612 to guard against the Dutch and the Marathas. It was a reference point for the vessels coming from Europe at that time. This old Portuguese fort stands on the beach south of Candolim, at the shore of the Mandovi River. It is named for the fresh water spring that gives the fort a constant supply of potable water, ‘agua’ being the Portuguese word for water and ‘Aguada’ signifying a place where water is collected. So well built and fiercely armed was this fort that it has never fallen into enemy hands.

One of the most popular as well as one of the most charming locations of Bardez, this is one out of the main beaches of the region. Especially, after the sun sets, the beach is beautifully lit up and so are the food shacks around. Carnivals are also organized here periodically and being here is absolutely blissful. If you feel the place is too crowded, the secret is that the region on the northern end of the beach where you find the main carpark or the mouth of the river is mostly crowded. This is because most of the water activity rentals are found over here. If you walk for about 15 minutes from here you will find the crowd thinning out and the beach becoming even more beautiful and peaceful. Besides the scenic beauty, the beach is also cleaner on this part and the water is cleaner too. The warm waters of the Baga Beach are not only fit for water sports but also for some swimming and beach games before that.

One of the most popular as well as one of the most charming locations of Bardez, this is one out of the main beaches of the region. Especially, after the sun sets, the beach is beautifully lit up and so are the food shacks around. Carnivals are also organized here periodically and being here is absolutely blissful. If you feel the place is too crowded, the secret is that the region on the northern end of the beach where you find the main carpark or the mouth of the river is mostly crowded. This is because most of the water activity rentals are found over here. If you walk for about 15 minutes from here you will find the crowd thinning out and the beach becoming even more beautiful and peaceful. Besides the scenic beauty, the beach is also cleaner on this part and the water is cleaner too. The warm waters of the Baga Beach are not only fit for water sports but also for some swimming and beach games before that.

Baga Beach : Rating- 10/10
The shacks played good music, good service, good crowd, good food and shisha.

In a party mood, head straight to BAGA Beach. Baga Beach is famous for Beach Parties, Cafes, disco, karaoke etc.. You will also get good food in these cafes. Mambo and Titos are most famous among tourists. If you want to have a tattoo then this is the best place. Beware of middle man. I had went to Xavier Beach Cafe, food was amazing.
Entry fee: NIL
How to Reach: 7 Kms from Vagator Beach
Recommended Length of Visit: 3-4 hrs
Tips: Go at Night
Facts: Don’t indulge in Massage and Prostitution. This place is famous for that.

Baga beach is one of the most happening and lively beach in Goa. It is situated in North Goa. It's one place where you can actually have fun which has no end. People come here, eat, drink, walk or just play in water. Many visitors buy souvenirs from the beach side shops. It looks beautiful during night time. If you like water sports activities, you can try the parasailing, banana rides and dolphin cruises which are just very exciting. Baga beach is very catchy and cool.

One of the most happening beaches of Goa. Full of life and buzz. You'll find a lots of shacks along the beach stretch, most famous - Britto's. Also, one of the roads leading upto the beach is the famous Tito's lane. This beach has all kinds of water sports. Best suited for evening. You'll find yourself being approached my numerous temporary tattoo makers, foot masseuse etc.

If you are in Goa for some party time, and you wanna be surrounded by party lovers...this is the place for you. There are countless number of clubs at baga lane for you. Party hard, get inked, go crazy, have dinner at the shacks with the candle lamps on the table facing the sea and the stars with some great music to keep you tuned.

Baga Beach is one of the most beautiful and popular beaches of Goa where you can enjoy tides and waves of sea. You can enjoy candle light dinner at beachside restaurants and get a tattoo if you wish for it. Paragliding can be enjoyed at Baga Beach and it will make your trip more adventorous.

so we spent 3 hours after clubbing, here on the Baga to witness the sunrise! Our bad that we missed out that Goa is on west coast so the sunrise turned out to be one of the funniest moment. Still this beach is lively till 4am. Few shacks were still open and playing music.

The party gets going after sunset and this is the time people start coming out on streets. Walk down the strip towards Baga beach. It has some good Sports Bars, Clubs and cafes which are highly recommended for football followers. The Cape Town Cafe, Cocktails and Dreams, to name a couple and of course the most prominent of all Titos and Mambos.&nbsp;This Strip is one of the most crowded street in Goa and one cannot set a foot here during Christmas and New Year. Baga is also popular for its shacks on the beach. During night the atmosphere on beach and strip is amazing. Every single person here, is to have fun. Stroll on the beach towards the Baga River, will get you to Brittos. Popular for its menu and taste, a meal here is recommended.

Vagator is approx 10km north up of Baga Beach ( the most popular tourist spot) , and about 60km from the railway station and airport. It was my 1st time in Vagator and on my arrival in that area I kind of have mixed thoughts, it was not very populous nor very happening but it was quaint !!! But what I had not imagined how my rest of the 3 days were going to change my perception for this part of Goa.

We would visit the Baga beach almost every night after clubbing or before clubbing but it was like a norm to visit the Baga! We loved the beach vibes at the Baga. Lively, music, colourful, shacks etc.Visit all beaches in evening time if you are a sunset fan. We had viewed sunset from all different beaches/places on all days till the time we were in Goa!We had rented bikes for all days while we were in Goa. We had paid INR250 (bargained down from INR300!) for a bike per day. We returned it only on our last day of the trip.Carry your valid driving license as this is required while vehicle renting procedure. And also carry your id proof with you as this would be requested on airport, apartment check-in and also renting the vehicle!Download offline map for Goa before you start your trip as GPS turned out to be very helpful for us.So overall, we thoroughly enjoyed the GOA nightlife for which Goa is famous for and trust me, we had the time of our lives and believe that this is how Goa is to be enjoyed!We pre-booked this 3bhk AC apartment for group of 8 people and man, this was the best option we had for our stay! Spacious and huge rooms with paid kitchen (100rs a day) included all amenities. It costed 3300rs per person for 7 days in Goa (not at all bad considering the apartment and location!) Very ideal for family and large group!

We then headed to Baga Beach for some water sport activities and the only thing on our minds was the parasailing. At 1,300 for the both of us and a measly 5 mind of ride, you would think what a waste of money! But hey, that’s the price you pay for commercialization. We headed back to the hotel to rest our boiling heads and bodies.&nbsp;

&nbsp;After drenching in the never ending tides, we all had a lovely stroll till Baga beach. It was time to explore the night life of Goa, from Colourful Shacks by the beach side to Cruise Casino, Goa has so much to offer.

11th Feb 15, we arrive at North Goa. Checked into the hotel. In the evening, we plan to go to Calangute beach. It is crowded (not to my liking) but a trip to Brittos at Baga Beach on the first night makes up more than that.

&nbsp;On goanese beach, we enjoyed candle light beach dinner at Baga beach &amp; Anjuna flea market. But amazing beach is devbaug island(tarkali) at konkan area in south Maharashtra. I would like to call it as "Mini Phuket". Its unique place where kali river &amp; sea meet &amp; its called "sagar sangam". one side white sandy beach(non poluted ) &amp; other side back water rides(in kali river).All water sports including scuba diving can be done here.we like scuba &amp; kayaking. Goa is very common destination for every indian, even i have been here for 7 times. But this time what we have explored it's really amazing. It reminds me steve jobe's word "stay hungry stay foolish"Disclosure : This was my crazy travel plan, to explore unknown roads with help of google "siri" &amp; almost 2700 km self driving.Thanks to my family to support my crazy ideas.

After 1 km walk through the goan soil, we reached our stay..It looks like a small hut from outside..We collected the keys and went to our room..It was such a cute and homely house..We felt we are at home itself..After a short nap, we walked towards the Baga Beach.On the way to the beach, our eyes got stuck at one of the tatoo shops there..and the board imprinted 'temporary tatoos'..We went there and did one temporary tatoo of a horse :PAgain from there we walk towards the baga beach...There are plenty of water sports operators in Baga Beach and you can identify them by the herd of water scooters and boats parked in one corner of the beach...Many people will approach you with many water sport package..Choose wisely..Finally we took it as a package worth Rs.1500 which includes the Water Bike, Banana Ride, Bumper Ride and Parasailing...First we rode the Water Bike..It was damn thrilling..The instructor will ride the bike acrooss the waves with heavy speed...You need to jump when a high tide comes..Next was the bumper ride...We need to sit in a tyre like structure and we will be driven towards the deep sea and they will rotate us with high speed...Next was the Banana Ride.. All the other rides were twin sharing..wereas in this ride, four of us were together...here this banana like structure will be driven towards the deep sea and they will tell us to jump in the sea...Man..Once you jump, you will get confused whether this is scuba diving or not..I could see the under water and the depth of sea and somehow after couple of minutes, we were taken back to the banana structure. Next was the Parasailing...They will take us to the deep sea via a small boat...and from there we shifted to another boat where parachute and rope were present..Instructor inside the boat told we need to pay 600Rs extra if we want to dip in water while doing Parasailing..Seeing a couple of people doing the same, we also said okay for dipping..Finally it was my turn to do Parasailing...Though I had little fear of doing this initillay, once I reached heights, it was sooo damn thrilling...Parasailing keeps your heart racing as you test the waters and let out the adventurer in you...Perfect Ride for adventureous People..I felt like a brid..with wings...They made me dipped in sea..Feels like I was on a swing...Then I went upwards and the perfect point is when you reach the top position..I felt sooooo good...Calm and quiet sea...With Blue sky above...Dark Sea below me....Multicoloured Parachute...Winds blowing...My mind filled with happiness....Finally they took me back towards the boat :( My mind cried I wanto fly moree and experience the feeling..It was around 3 00 pm afternoon..So we walked towards a restaurant and had Roti and spicy Paneer Curry...Finally we went back to our Hotel..We talked about the excitement we had while doing Parasailing..After getting fresh and all, we simply walked a lot and did some shopping and had dinner and slept peacefully with fulfillment.

One of the most cramped beaches, especially by Indian tourists, Baga is the most happening beach in Goa! From water sports for the adventure seekers to beach shacks with good food and music, hosting beach parties, karaoke, and some even offering accommodation - Baga beach has everything.

Staying at Anjana Beach was a good decission for me as I was looking for a relaxed trip away from the crowded streets like Baga and Calangute Beach which are overloaded with clubs playing bollywood nights. Although it’s another kind of feel at Baga Beach to enjoy ur drinks &amp; meal by the streetside resturants watching the crowd moving around in high spirit, but yeah the traffic could be a little annoying.

From getting the sands on my legs to doing 'Panorama' to putting my 'Over the Ears' headphones and listening 'Cheap Thrills, I remember everything since I didn't drink in the morning :p. Oh my God, what are you going to do alone there sitting on the shacks? I thought the same before but then, time seemed to pass naturally and then it passed some more simultaneously with the myriad thoughts going on in my mind.I think that that was the most essential part when I realized that we don't need anyone to travel or at least to make anything happen. Note: I had many friends to approach me and go Goa together but I took the decision to come alone dauntlessly of which I am proud of now.The evening flowed smoothly, seamlessly and with so delight that I still rewind it to make me blush. The Captured moments are always memorable but sometimes, the words fill the void of 'Uncaptured' moments and that is what I came for especially.Being a professional content writer and an author of two books, well, two flop books, I wanted to give some thoughts on why, how, what and who of my next novel. I am a mixture of 'Dude' and 'Douche' and so at the third morning, I came to a title: They Call me Dude- A Wannabe Turned Prodigy.Here, I met my first girl. On the Beach. She was hot but not cute, smart but not sexy; she was a bimbo. We talked as we were friends for life. She was orthodox; she was conservative. I respected it. I know that every meeting can't end up to a date or bathing together on a beach. But, I really felt the level of technology millenials are using. You aren't physically present but find the &nbsp;'Match' of your type perhaps and there is a fair expectations of it going long. Well, this didn't work. She left. Don't Worry. I have two more. :D :D PS- I was under pressure now.But, I continued with my real intention. I immersed again in the air of the beach.11 am, 29 December, 2016, Goa.

The whole day we splurged on some water activities since we were not able to do it in Calangute because of the tides. But, Baga offers a bit expensive water sports than Calangute, but is exciting if you are a first timer! I don't remember exactly the price, but it was around 1800-2000/- for jet skiing and parasailing both included. In the evening we enjoyed the amazing Titos lane and the goan offerings around Baga.

Not exactly a "city" but who cares. Did you expect any other place on the top of this list, honestly? Goa is the place that taught our country how to have a good time, and Baga beach is where the parties never end. With its famous trance music and infamous rave parties, there's no way a tourist won't visit this place on his visit. The ultra-popular "Baga lane" is hardly a km long but my goodness the number of nightclubs it packs in there is incredible. This is the best nightlife city in India.Tripoto's top 3 of the beach: Cafe Mambos, Get High, and Red Square.Average expenditure for two: Rs. 3,000Read more about the beach.Are you a resident of any of the above-mentioned cities? Have you got some interesting nightlife encounters to share? Do share your stories on Tripoto and do service to the 25M strong community of travellers!

Reaching bagha beach was the start of the long affair with this place. It was a huge stretch of sand water and fun. First thing to do here is to get hold of a bench as the sun is always there and unlike westerners we Indians don't like to get tanned. Do bargain as everything in Goa is up for a bargain.&nbsp;So like so many we also took rent of one such bench with the big umbrella providing the necessary cover in the summer of May. Good thing is they are readily available throughout the beach. You can use the place for keeping your things and sunbathing once you are back playing in the sea. You will have all sorts of water rides available here and you can opt for one or all depending upon your choice.

The 4th day was the best of all. After enjoying our sumptuous breakfast we went for water sports. When we reached there, my friend with family was waiting for us. After reaching there we started doing water sports, water boat ride,water skiing, para sailing and jet skiing but the best one was Banana ride. After finishing of water sports, we felt tired and took lunch and went to guest house for rest. After taking some rest, we again went to beach and take photographs. Varun Dhawan was also coming on the same day in Goa. In the night we went to see him and with this our day is over .

Many of the people restrict their perceptions of Goa to simply beach life. However, Goa offers a rich colonial past telling the story from Portuguese settlements that still influences the local architecture and the churches as well. The Basilica of Bom Jesus, The Church of Saint Francis of Assisi and ancient temples such as Sri Mahalakshmi temple and Shree Shantadurga temple are some of the must visit and photographed places. Goa’s geographical location in the Western Ghats gives it admission to wildlife. Thus, you can spot the leopards, bison, deer, and many more. Besides all, Beaches are the best location to capture the beautiful sunsets. Ladakh

Calangute, Baga beach:One of the most crowded places, yeah at 1 AM you have to knock the natural’s shutter if you want the ice-cream. Ha-ha! Don’t say who will eat ice cream when you are in Goa. Dear fellow, you will get from Urat (local drink) to Kings, virgin mojito to screw driver anywhere. I don’t need to guide you for the same.

......we head north to Baga....quite a crowd...the same kind of crowd of youngsters- sent- on- vacation- by- office, we met on the plane, ....playing dumb charades...only to be chastened by the Captain's warning of inclement weather ahead....fasten your seat belts please...

Anjuna is firstly the name of a village and is one of the places where the earliest Hindus came and settled down. There is also the church of St. Micheal over here which is another major attraction besides the flea market of Anjuna. Coming to the beach of Anjuna, this is not a very crowded beach but is still quite a popular one. The crowd is of mostly foreigners and so you can expect a different surrounding than you find in other beaches or the ones in Mumbai or South India. You can enjoy swimming as well as water sports here and it is also a perfect place for picnics and get togethers.

Anjuna is firstly the name of a village and is one of the places where the earliest Hindus came and settled down. There is also the church of St. Micheal over here which is another major attraction besides the flea market of Anjuna. Coming to the beach of Anjuna, this is not a very crowded beach but is still quite a popular one. The crowd is of mostly foreigners and so you can expect a different surrounding than you find in other beaches or the ones in Mumbai or South India. You can enjoy swimming as well as water sports here and it is also a perfect place for picnics and get togethers.

A beautiful beach where hippies can be easily spotted but the local flea market is over hyped. There isn't much worth buying . But make no mistake, the place is heavenly. It has cleaner water compared to other beaches and plenty of restaurants around to have food, mainly sea food. If you do not like sea food, good luck finding something else worth eating!

Anjuna Beach: 8/10
Known for its famous shack ‘curlies’ by the beach but we tried the one of the cafes on the cliff only cos we never found our way to the flat surface of the beach. Either ways, ordered for everything(pancakes & steaks) that was available in the menu cos in a couple of hours it was going to be a ‘goodbye’ to Goa.

Famous for its flea market all around the world. Go, do some shopping.
And bargain like a Delhiite...lol
I found the beach good as i got some good photographs there. Otherwise i don't know why people love it so much.
If you are here...don't miss Curlies... see some druggy action over there. Roll a J... and get lost into the trip. Curlies is the way to go my friends. Cheers!

Well after a long night(actully morning) do remember to sleep. Well if you do get up at luch time there is this small quircky place you got to visit for one of the best Burgers Goa has to offer, its called Burger Factory. Have a generous meal of the big burger , tangy mayo and crunchy chips. After that Visit the city shop for Kajus. In the evening you can visit the flee markets for some casual shopping. Int he night do not forget to visit the beach. Beaches are totally a new experiance at night. If you have the oppertunity do participate in the open air parties on the beach

These are some typical party joints famous in North Goa and can be places in your to do list other than the usual Club Cabana.Word of advice - would recommend visiting Condolim for the sunset.I am sure the aftermaths of the party scenes which includes some pole crashing, dog cuddling and a lot of other things wouldn’t interest you, so let’s jump to Day 2!Day 2 - Trip to Dudhsagar Falls

One of the most popular beach among Foreign travelers, Anjuna is known for its calm waters and shacks on the beach. The best shacks of Goa are on the Anjuna Beach – Curlies, Shiva Valley, Cafe Liliput to name a few. These shacks are quite popular among Bohemians and are built next to each other. One can easily sense a Hippy culture running on the beach. There is a party going on everyday in one of the shacks. Barring New Year and Specials there is no entry charge for these places. The atmosphere remains quite much the same till dawn, and this is when the crowd start retreating to their places. Its time to get back to bed and get a good sleep. A new day will bring new adventures.

The next part of the trail takes you through the Anjuna beach. There is a narrow mud trail on the hill. Just follow the trail as it takes you into the village, the beach will be on your left. Find any lane that leads you to the beach and just walk north along the beach till it ends and there is flight of stairs which leads you towards the village. Alternatively you can walk through the village. The beach is much better though. For directions, just ask anyone how to reach the parking lot.

Wednesday Flea Market at Anjuna Beach is a stretch of road with colourful clothes shops, spices, lamps, and other small souvenirs like bongs, stone elephants,etc. It is an experience, but you can give it a miss if you are going to visit the Saturday night Market at Arpora. At night, I simply strolled to the beach which is a ten-minute walk from the hostel, and there are always parties happening in one or the other shacks. Avoid long weekends,as they cause the beach to get horribly crowded. Sundowns are magical, as they are universally. You can relax in one of the shacks, and watch the sun go down the horizon, staining the sands, flecking the sea with gold, and couples in silhouette.

We spent some time at Baga beach and then we headed for Anjuna beach.The lunch treat was at the Curlies, another awesome place in Goa. Anjuna is a little less crowded as compared to Baga and Calangute. I had heard so much about this place again, that i couldn't afford to not visit. The food again was absolutely awesome. I was hungry. (Ok, m hungry all the time!) But, not because of that the food was actually good. If you are here, you must try the Chicken wings and Fish fingers.Second day, well spent again.

After landing we went to our hotel relaxed for some time and hired a self drive Bike and headed to Anjuna Beach, One of the most popular sea beaches because of its night Parties, Curlies and other good eating joints, peaceful seashore, with chilled beer and good music in nearby restaurants and flea markets. We enjoyed the sunset there and spent the whole evening at curlies very famous beach Shack of Goa. * Renting two wheeler in Monsoon may cost somewhere between Rs.200 to Rs.250 a day*Anjuna is situated 21 km north of Panjim and 7 km from Baga.* Anjuna Flea Market every Wednesday (Must Visit)* Curlies most famous Shack in Anjuna, Shiva Valley Shack next to Curlies has Trance night every Tuesday Day 2Today we hired a Four Wheeler as it was raining and travelling by a two wheeler becomes difficult in rain.

Although Anjuna is a small village in Goa, its fame has travelled far and wide making it one of the most preferred places to visit in Goa. As much as this town is known for the St Michael’s Church, it is known for its flea market as well. Popularized by hippies, the flea market came into being during their time.Mapusa Friday Market

Anjuna is one of the popular beaches of North Goa, especially amongst foreigners. It is an infusion of the characteristically bohemian-style flea market, beach parties, and good music in quirky food joints - Curlies is my favorite. Grab a seat with ocean view and treat yourself with western seafood and few chilled beers.

One more place not to miss is the flea market that happens near Anjuna beach. You can get some really beautiful hand crafted and otherwise items here. Don't forget to try the street food at this place, I tried an egg burger kind of item and it was awesome with melt in the mouth Egg preparation. We ended up eating another round of the dish. Goa it feels is like not a town but rather a fun-fair everywhere you look and I dot think anyone can have enough of this place.

At the last day of our trip we went to Anjuna beach for trying out the water sports. The distance from Calangute to Anjuna is around 9 km. We tried out banana boat ride and jet skies and spent the rest of the day bathing in the water. Anjuna beach is very clean and tidy and you would find mostly foreign tourists there.

The 5th day starts with planning. Where we will go?? We have many places to go but less days to visit, so we decided to go Anjuna Beach. After reaching Anjuna Beach we spent some time there . . After Anjuna Beach we did local sight seeing and went to our guest house and went to Bagha beach and sat there for sometime.

Remember the 60's and the 70's when really cool people would just pack up and leave for the beach to refresh themselves and spend their time strumming their guitars or listening to the sound of waves crashing on the beach? Well, Anjuna was the definition of hipster in Goa. But over the years, change occurred and while change is inevitable, so is pollution. Anjuna might still be the lesser frequented of its contemporary beaches like Baga, Calangute or Vagator, but it is not what it used to be; a paradise for people who were spiritually and creatively motivated in life.

In the evening we headed to the second closest beach from our place, the Anjuna Beach. Honestly speaking, we were a bit skeptical about going there because it is considered to be amongst the most crowded beaches of Goa, and we all wanted to avoid that. But, it didn't fail us. We found our spot on the side of Anjuna Beach where the very famous Curlies Shack is located.

Arambhol and Anjuna beach:Great place! When you rent a bike there the street going that side will give you good vibe. Roads are good with coconut trees around. Here you can find few cafes and restaurants with amazing views worth to explore. You will find blue sea here with all those stuff. Believe me, all “Stuff”.

After spending more than an hour in the beach we started to Anjuna beach. It’s distance around 8.5km from Vagator. Its credible palms and rocky crescent give great pleasure to be at Anjuna Beach. It's distinguished due to the formation of unusual rock placed on a small inlet of white sand and black rock protruding into the sea. Spend some time walking along the beach by hearing seashores. Really it’s very good place for beach side parties and Adventure sports. May we enjoy some more activities if we visit this place in the year end.

Anjuna BeachThen at evening we started to Anjuna beach and it took long ride to find the place and at last we were there to beach and spent sometime there. There is a rest-0-bar near the beach it was good place to spent in front of beach with friends.

Located in Bardez, his fort rises above the Chapora River. This was a red laterite fort built by the Portuguese in place of an earlier Muslim structure in the 1th Century. It was then captured and again lost by a number of Hindu rulers before the Portuguese finally abandoned it in the year 1892. The main enemies of this fort were the Bahmani Sultans who were successful in capturing it and again later it was captured by the Marathas in the beginning of the 18th Cdentury. It was recaptured by the Portuguese to be taken back again by the Marathas. This battle went on for a long time after which the fort was absolutely deserted. At present, what we can see here are simply ruins of the fort and the heads of two tunnels. Regular buses from Anjuna and Mapusa can bring and take you back from here.

Located in Bardez, his fort rises above the Chapora River. This was a red laterite fort built by the Portuguese in place of an earlier Muslim structure in the 1th Century. It was then captured and again lost by a number of Hindu rulers before the Portuguese finally abandoned it in the year 1892. The main enemies of this fort were the Bahmani Sultans who were successful in capturing it and again later it was captured by the Marathas in the beginning of the 18th Cdentury. It was recaptured by the Portuguese to be taken back again by the Marathas. This battle went on for a long time after which the fort was absolutely deserted. At present, what we can see here are simply ruins of the fort and the heads of two tunnels. Regular buses from Anjuna and Mapusa can bring and take you back from here.

A beautiful and clean beach. There are hardly any shops here but maybe that is why it is so beautiful and uncorrupted. The Chapora Fort located on the hill located adjacent to the beach offers breathtaking view.

Its a must visit place in GOA. I did the first thing in the evening after reaching Goa. You will also get a Trekking Experience. This fort has also been shown in DIL CHAHTA HAI and from that day onwards people started calling it as “DIL CHAHTA HAI POINT”. From here you will get awesome view of Vagator Beach. Just sit here calmly and wait for sun to set. Its an amazing place.
Entry fee: NIL
How to Reach: Just 2 km from Vagator Beach
Recommended Length of Visit: 1 hr
Tips: Go in the Evening to witness the sunset; Breathtaking view of Vagator Beach.
Facts: This fort is also known as “DIL CHAHTA HAI POINT”

History :
Chapora Fort, located in Bardez, Goa, rises high above the Chapora River. Before the Portuguese arrived in Goa in 1510, this location was the site of another fort. The fort changed hand several times after Portuguese acquired Bardez. Trying to end the Portuguese rule in Goa, Prince Akbar joined his father’s enemies, the Marathas in 1683 and made this place his base camp. It became the northern outpost of the Old Conquests. After the Portuguese recovered from an encounter with the Marathas, they strengthened their northern defences and provided shelter to the people there.
The present fort was built in 1717, replacing the older fortifications. Across the Chapora river, the Hindu ruler of Pernem, the Maharaja of Sawantwadi who was an old enemy of the Portuguese held the fort for two years after it fell to the Marathas in 1739 in its first test. When Goa's border moved northwards with the acquisition of Pernem as part of the New Conquests, the fort lost its military significance towards the end of the century. It is a pleasant place to wander that offers fantastic views north across the Chapora river to Pernem, south over Vagator and also far out to the Arabian Sea in the West.
The fort sits on a prominent position which commands views in all directions. It also has steep slopes on all sides. The fort follows the outline of the higher slopes. This forms an irregular outer wall that uses the natural form to add defensive height to the fortifications. This offers an advantage over dry ditches being dug. At the top of the steep approach track, the main gate is small and unpretentious, but narrow and deep. Depending on defence requirements, the positions of bastions are irregularly spaced with enormous embrasures for cannon. Each bastion has a cylindrical turret offering a special character to the fort.
Vagator Beach with Fort Chapora in the background
Inside the fort, the church, once dedicated to St. Anthony, has disappeared and inside only a few signs exist of the barracks and housing that once filled this vast area. The wide expanse of open space is only a tumble of stones, where a few herds of goats graze and cashew bushes grow. A natural valley to the beach protected by rocky promontories provides an excellent natural access to the sea.
State : Goa
(Source : Wikipedia)

Chapora fort is a beautiful place and you can explore scenic beauty along with your passion for adventure. You can climb up mountain for a wonderful trek and thrilling experience. Visiting Chapora Fort is a memorable experience for me and my friends and is one of the most beautiful attractions in Goa.

I read about this place somewhere online. Although Aguada is more famous, this one must not be missed. This is an awesome place as its visited by fewer people and looks stunning in the rains. Everything was so green and it rained on and off here. The fort walls were covered with moss and i loved the panoramic views that this place offered.

CHAPORA FORT – one for history buffs
Remember the Bollywood movie- Dil Chahta Hai? Many of you might have longed to sit on the wall just like the actors. Well!! Fret not. It is the Chapora Fort. Despite being a major tourist attraction, the fort holds a historical significance as well. Dating back to 1717 and the Portuguese rule in Goa, this fort was built in place of an older fort on the same location after the Maratha-Portuguese war. Lying in ruins now, the fort was an attempt by the Portuguese to reinforce their stronghold over the Goan territory and prevent further conflicts. Surrounded by steep slopes and breath taking vistas of Pernem, Chapora River and the Vagator beach, Chapora Fort can leave one bewitched with its splendour.

Befor you realize 4 days are already gone by and its definately not a good feeling. Take some rest and in the evening do visit the famous forts of Goa, the Chapora fort(the dil chahta hai fort) will bring you to a different side of Goa with is raw untouched and away from the busy streets of Goa. Do watch the sun sink down in the sea waters . Its an amazing site. Well its now time to be back to business.

The next day, we were set to travel to north Goa. Tulsi Das ji was waiting for us and we left. Travelling with Tulsi Das ji, was a pleasure. The man in his mid forties, kept us entertaining with stories of Goa. We left Palolem and headed towards Chapora fort. It was a long ride and we reached Chapora fort by 11am. To my dislike I found the fort to be a bit crowded, but nevertheless the view was mesmerizing. The fort stood still surrounded by greenery and overlooking the Vagator beach.

The famous Chapora Fort is uphill Vagator. Leave your bike at the bottom and climb the hill to the fort. You get a 360 degree view from here. This place is most suited for the people who want some time alone. You can spend hours sitting here and wondering. Spend some quality time here and start moving again. Our next stop will be Anjuna. By the time we reach Anjuna, the Sun would have started its disappearance into the ocean. Watch the Sunset sitting on the deck of Curlies, this will be one of the most beautiful sights you ever witnessed.

On my check in at the hostel, I was greeted with more than happy smiles by foriegn travelers staying at the hostel, who were going to be my family for next 3 days. It was the beginning of a happy trip . For the next 3 days we all ate together , cooked together , washed dishes and clothes , explored hidden areas of vagator, swimming at the sunset, hill climbing to "Chapora fort" (((( See the pic below- The "Dil Chahta Hai" Fort , all Bollywood fans must be aware of this ))) to watch sunset , going to a psy trance party as a result of insomnia due to so much of sharing and travel stories !&nbsp;

After resting for a couple of hours we headed to Chapora Fort or more commonly known as the ‘Dil Chahta Hain’ fort. It was just 11 kms from our hotel and after parking at the base of the fort it was a 10 mins walk to the top. (Tip: Wear good sneakers, for guys and gals, with formidable grip as the path is full of small stones that make it slippery and slightly perilous).&nbsp;

Today we headed to Chapora fort the Famous Dil Chahta hai Fort, Chapora fort overlooking the sea make for an endearing sight. Now the fortress lies in ruins; however, the main incentive to climbing up here is the splendid view of nearby Anjuna and Vagator beaches. We spent some time there clicking few pics and enjoying the pleasant breeze and amazing view around the Fort.

There’s something truly magical about Goa during the monsoon. The rainy season means that Goa is taking a break from the busy tourist season and this is a perfect opportunity for you to put your feet up along with the locals as well. Take a lengthy siesta, or a rainy walk along the beach. If there's adventure on your mind then hike up to Fort Chapora (of Dil Chahta Hai Fame) and watch raindrops crashing into the ocean. If it’s relaxation on your mind, then sit in your balcony and enjoy the rainfall along with a hot cup of coffee and a book.Do a cartwheel at the beach and slump on your face because there wouldn’t be anyone to see you!

There’s something truly magical about Goa during the monsoon. The rainy season means that Goa is taking a break from the busy tourist season and this is a perfect opportunity for you to put your feet up along with the locals as well. Take a lengthy siesta, or a rainy walk along the beach. If there's adventure on your mind then hike up to Fort Chapora (of Dil Chahta Hai Fame) and watch raindrops crashing into the ocean. If it’s relaxation on your mind, then sit in your balcony and enjoy the rainfall along with a hot cup of coffee or beer and a book.

After spending a considerable amount of time, we moved to Chapora fort which was visible from the beach. Chapora fort is famous for one Bollywood movie's shooting: Dil Chahta Hai. The view was spectacular from the top of the fort and at one point there was a rough trail from fort to the beach.

Food is not an issue here as everywhere you go you will find some excellent food joints. The same day could be clubbed to visit the Dil Chahta hai Fame Fort. The road to the place is very smooth and you can reach here without any one's help. The beauty of the place is in its location situate at the edge of cliff overlooking the arabian sea the place is neatly maintained and has a great view of the places all around. While coming down saw a beautiful building with a huge statue of Lion at the passageway. Assuming to be the a view point as we moved towards it, a tall serious looking guy told us to elsewhere as it turns out it was the prized possession of kingfisher baron Mr. Mallya. These are the moments that makes me realise we are the peanuts in the world of riches. If you follow the Google Map you can detour and also visit the Jail at the end of the road which is guarded by Sea and cliff from three sides making any escape attempt really futile. Ironical if at all Mr Mallya is sent to serve his sentence here.

Forts. Goa is also famous for its Forts.These military buildings are remains of time.The scenic beauty they offer from it is astounding.1- Chapora Fort -This one is famous for its appearance in Dil Chata Hai movie 2-Aguada Fort 3-Cabo da Rama Fort - This one is in South Goa.

First, We went to Chapora fort which is Quite a Hike as vehicles doesn't go all the way up. Took us about 20 Mins to reach the Top or "dil chahta hai" Point. and the view was indeed worth it all. Vast sea as far as u can see.

With a perfect kickstart to our morning, we headed back to our place to get ready and going for the day ahead. Firstly we decided to visit the famous Chapora Fort (a.k.a. "Dil Chahta Hai") fort, as it was also quite nearby to our place. The fort which was once the biggest fort of North Goa, is now only left with a few remains, but the views are indeed breathtaking!The fort is situated on a hilltop and one needs to climb a steep trail to reach the top. If you're adventurous enough, you can also access the fort from the Vagator/Chapora beach below, by hiking your way up the hills.

We had a limited time constraint so we returned back to resort for check out packed our bags and moved to Chapora Fort- Dil Chahta Hai !! Site :) Clicked so many pics here on the top of the rock hills .It was almost a dream for a simple girl from the City of Prayag where I had seen only the holy Ganges and Sangam of Ganga -Yamuna-Saraswati. The different culture ,food and fun elements here but on the top of it the essence of GOAN culture to be there means to come back again !!

The Portuguese left us more than 200 years ago, but parts of their legacy still remain, one of which is Chapora fort, built in 1717.The Fort lies high above the Chapora river overlooking the Vagator beach and the Morjim beach. It lost military significance towards the end of the 18th century once Goa's borders moved northwards. Most of the fort, along with all the barracks and a church now lies in ruins. Nevertheless, it is a majestic and enduring historical monument with spectacular views of the Arabian sea and the sunset vistas. That itself makes it worth climbing to the top.

Known as the 'Queen of Beaches', this is regarded as the most popular tourist destination of Goa. The beach is located at about 15 kilometres from the capital city of Panjim and is in the northern part of Goa. There are also a number of very good holiday resorts out here and this makes the place even more popular. Besides, the Calangute Beach has to offer to its guests and visitors the golden sands, opportunities for water sports, awesome Goan cuisine and some lovely views too. The beach is steep and is thus not very apt for swimming but it can be done still if you do not go far off.

Known as the 'Queen of Beaches', this is regarded as the most popular tourist destination of Goa. The beach is located at about 15 kilometres from the capital city of Panjim and is in the northern part of Goa. There are also a number of very good holiday resorts out here and this makes the place even more popular. Besides, the Calangute Beach has to offer to its guests and visitors the golden sands, opportunities for water sports, awesome Goan cuisine and some lovely views too. The beach is steep and is thus not very apt for swimming but it can be done still if you do not go far off.

Calangute Beach: Rating: 4/10
Honestly, ain’t sure if it was the time I went, but I’m more of a person who like to see less of people and listen to less of unwanted noise when I’m on sober vacations especially where I’m trying really hard to find my soul

Calangute beach has many options for water sports, and with the current flood of tourists, this place is advisable only for water sports and not sunbathing or relaxing. And don't worry if you don't know to swim(like me), if you get cold feet to jump in the middle of the sea you can tell someone to give you a push(like I did) and they will be obliged to do so(They actually did)

The longest and the busiest beach of all, Calangute experiences the largest crowd among all the beaches. The beach is well know for sunbathing, water sports and mouth waterinf delicacies. The beach shacks are lighted up with trippy lights and soft music engulfs the whole beach. Shopaholics can will certainly beholden for the myriads of products sold here.

Goa is a place which everybody visits at least once a year. I have been to North Goa multiple times and have explored the beaches and shacks. This October (2016) I got a chance to visit Goa for a bachelorette party; I decided to arrive a day earlier than my friends and explore areas near Panjim on my own. I had already done my research and finalized my itinerary before arriving in Goa. I will reach the guesthouse at Calungute early morning, freshen up, have some breakfast and set out to explore the not so popular but beautiful places near Panjim.My planned itinerary for a day in GoaHave brunch in an authentic Goan restaurant in Panjim -&gt;Visit the UNESCO World Heritage sites in Old Goa -&gt; Take a ferry to Divar Island -&gt; Visit Piedado village and Church of Our Lady of Compassion -&gt; Enjoy the sunset and the river view at Vitorzen Jetty or go for a river cruise at Mandovi River.How I actually spent my day

We were a group of 8 people so we booked an apartment with Goa clarks which we found them through Google (http://goaclarks.com/). The place is amazing. Our flat was 3bhk and very very very spacious. Very close to Calangute Beach (2-3mins by a walk!) and a min away from main Calangute Market Road.We would party all night long, come back to apartment, use the swimming pool and sleep till midnoon. We would make our breakfast in our apartment kitchen (yes, we bought basic breakfast necessity from local supermarket which was right outside our apartment building!). We would then have our lunch at fancy local restaurant and then go out for sightseeing (forts and beaches!) only after 4pm as the sun was too bright and direct to do anything in mid afternoon!The evening it would get little pleasant and night little cold. Just perfect! January and February is the best season to visit Goa. Little less crowd (exam time in most schools in India so less indian families visiting, yay!), many firangs and pleasant climate!

Then I took a gentle walk in the Beach till I did not realize I had now reached the Calangute Beach. I remember the auto guy in the morning who left us till the hotel had told me there would be some Saturday market at Arpora and the crowd would come there and i could get to shop some fancy Goanese, Non-Goanese, junk stuff from there, so it was a must visit.Indeed, the market was one happening place that night with some cool band playing, and what more could you ask for especially when you are on a vacation! Live Music, Good Food, Cool People, Street Shopping!!! :)That was my first day ended quite well.. :)The morning was beautiful. This hotel that I was cribbing about yesterday suddenly turned to be one of my favorite places to stay in Goa since it was a Serene, Quiet, Peaceful, Sunny morning and I think that is why I was here, to experience all of this. Far from my daily hustle, finally I was here.Goa is one place that will give you the best experience of both Beach and Hills. It's Blue and Green both.The crowd is one you will never find anywhere in India. The culture too. It's one place which i could never imagine exist in a country like ours.

Next on the itinerary was the famous Souza Lobo at Calangute beach, 6.7kms away from our hotel. Opened since 1932, this seaside sea-food specialty place has sumptuous supply of sizzling, scrumptious, succulent Goan-style cooking. A must when you are on this side of Goa.

Without wasting much time, with our glasses on, we hit to Calangute Beach, One of the most happening beach in Goa. Nobody should get surprised if they don't get vehicle to park or to land their feet on the ground near the beach during weekend afternoon. It is like a mini kumbh mela. When you see the waves hitting the shores and the cool breeze constantly kissing your face, you would realise all the odd things you faced from the start till now was worth it for this moment.

Then we went to Canlangute beach one of the most crowded beach of Goa lots of streets shops around, but the beach as such is not the best of all. There are neither swaying palms nor are there any traditional boats lying there to add variety, but still it’s one of the most crowded beaches of Goa. We did little bit of street shopping, spent some at the beach and headed to Vagator beach.

North Goa is hub of tourist attraction due to various water sports and night life. Like all other tourists, I too put up in a hotel near Calangute Beach, though I had an urge to visit the less popular but more attractive South Goa Beaches.I have often heard people suggesting to go to North Goa since there are lot of fun activities, crowd and beaches in a row. Yet, I did an extensive search to look for some of the most beautiful beaches in Goa. To my surprise, I found some of the most serene and beautiful beaches are in South Goa. Could find that there were around 33 beaches.Beach Circuit would include the below beaches categorized into North and South Goa.North Goa:
Coco Beach
Sinquerim Beach
Candolim Beach
Calangute Beach
Baga Beach
Anjuna Beach
Vagator Beach
Morgim Beach
Mandrem Beach
Ashwem Beach
Arambol Beach
Kerri BeachSouth Goa:

Day 1: We checked in the hotel at 3 PM. Took some rest. Had our lunch. Then we hired a bike for local sightseeing at 250 INR per day. On our first day i.e. 1st December, we spent most our time on Calangute Beach, Restaurants nearby.

Goa and Kerala are similar in many ways...We felt like we are travelling in some place in Kerala itself..We stepped down at Panjim nd get inside the bus to Calangute..Its around 10 kms. We get down at calangute and from there we walked to our hotel-Mary Joey Villa. That walk was sooo amazing..Walking through the streetside with GPS on and looking at the map Mary Joey Villa..observing the goan architecture, observing the people...We felt sooo good...On the way, we had breakfast from one small restaurant...

It started with beach hopping. I rented an activa for just 300/- per day. (Best mode of transport in Goa). One full tank was enough for 3 days of non stop travel withing Goa. After breakfast, first stop was Baga beach, after exploring the beach I went to Calangute Beach. Calangute Beach is too touristy and crowded. Its good for water sports activity and the food served in the shacks along the beach is just awesome. Get yourself a beer and see the waves and feel the breeze. I also ride around and saw some beautiful houses, and tiny winding roads, the day also comprised of some window street shopping and getting to know the place closely. Driving and riding in Goa is very easy, thanks to google maps for guiding each way. While coming back to the hostel I visited this place called the Purple Martini at the sunset point in Anjuna. What a place this is. You can view the endless ocean and a beautiful sunset from the cliff. They have a beautiful interiors and a very decent menu which is super cheap. You can also select your fish and order it to cook. Here is the pic of the sunset from that place. It was a long day and I went back to my hostel to get some rest and be ready for the party at the most happening place. Its called Club Cabana . This place is magical and the music makes you high. 1000/- entry charge and then drinks are an the house. Decent deal. Day 2 ends with beach hopping and clubbing.

After the cruise party we left for hotel and everyone slept. Me and a photographer friend sneaked out to explore the city. We decided to go to Calangute Beach and trust me it you are with your girlfriend/wife or boyfriend/husband a candlelight date is a must at Calangute beach. Unfortunately i was with a friend so we instead opted to photograph the beach :P

Goa. First Day. Overnight journey. Arrival at Goa at 6:15 in morning. I waited for almost an hour and then rented a scooty for myself. Mind you my first day on any kind of bike. After roaming around for 2 hours, I checked in to the place I was staying- Zostel. After 30 minutes of doing nothing, I took my scooty to go for lunch. Had myself a plate of beef which was amazinggg in one of those pretty shacks in Calangute beach. Then on a whim I went for parasailing and in the course of that sea journey managed to drop my phone in the middle of the sea. Pretty start of trip. The evening got me introduced to people who now are friends for life. Listening to music sitting in the cafe in Zostel. The day ended but the journey has just began.

It was holi morning and we all were excited for the Holi. We had two options for Holi. Either Arambol Beach or Calangute Beach but keeping in mind the level of traffic, we decided to go to Calangute. On our way we saw people celebrating holi with all the stuffs they could play with(Daaru,Weed etc etc). We reached calangute and played holi with water, colours and beer ofcourse(good for hair you see :D). Me and my friend again went towards the waves and played with them. We were head to toe wet with saline water. We were hell tired after playing holi, had our lunch at the shacks and took rest on the couches.

Next was our lunch at a local restaurant at panjim itself and if you love pork, do try Pork vindaloo at any one of these local restaurants. I am not into pork thus had chicken vindaloo which was delicious but the locals claim not as delicious as the pork version would have been.&#160;

Next, we went to my favourite beach, Calangute Beach and the breeze through my hairs as usual always made me feel, if love exists, it does here. You cannot resist but fall in love with this place. And if you are lucky, like the way I was on that day, I got to visit the saturday market where you get various hippie sorta clothes at pocket friendly prices.

Since our hotel 'Casa Bribone' was situated just next to Calangute beach, we started with it's exploration on Day 1. We just sat down had a few pints and took in the mystic view of the waves hitting the shores. The rain that came and went during this made the scenario even more beautiful and mesmerizing.

There is a lot to do and enjoy during Monsoon in Goa!!Yes with an option of cheap air tickets and hotel rooms you can save your pockets and have fun in Goa.So it all started with the random plan of mine during a long weekend. With couple of days in hand I planned this holiday. We stayed near Baga Beach where we reached at Sunset. We admired the beauty of nature and after spending time over there we moved along the beach line and reached to Calaungute Beach.There was so much to do at this wonderful place. There were many beach side restaurants where you can get Seafood along with the choice of drinks. I don't drink so I preferred a Seafood platter with lime soda.What evening it was!!!Truly by having warm Seafood platter, sitting on the beach and admiring beautiful sunset.

Weekend
Getaways from Goa

Hampi (Hampe) is a village and temple town recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed as the Group of Monuments at Hampi in northern Karnataka, India. It is situated within the ruins of the city of Vijayanagara, the former capital of the Vijayanagara Empire. Predating the city of Vijayanagara, Hampi continues to be an important religious centre, housing the Virupaksha Temple and several other monuments belonging to the old city. Hampi is situated on the banks of the Tungabhadra River. It is 353 km from Bangalore. The extant monuments of Vijayanagara or Hampi can be divided into Religious, Civil & Military buildings. The Jain temples on Hemakuta hill, the two Devi shrines and some other structures in the Virupaksha temple complex predate the Vijayanagara Empire. Hampi tourism has special importance for the Hanuman devotees, as mythical Kishkinda, the monkey kingdom was located here. You can see plenty of motifs and carvings of Hanuman all around the sites of which some are brilliantly colourful.Read More

Hampi (Hampe) is a village and temple town recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed as the Group of Monuments at Hampi in northern Karnataka, India. It is situated within the ruins of the city of Vijayanagara, the former capital of the Vijayanagara Empire. Predating the city of Vijayanagara, Hampi continues to be an important religious centre, housing the Virupaksha Temple and several other monuments belonging to the old city. Hampi is situated on the banks of the Tungabhadra River. It is 353 km from Bangalore. The extant monuments of Vijayanagara or Hampi can be divided into Religious, Civil & Military buildings. The Jain temples on Hemakuta hill, the two Devi shrines and some other structures in the Virupaksha temple complex predate the Vijayanagara Empire. Hampi tourism has special importance for the Hanuman devotees, as mythical Kishkinda, the monkey kingdom was located here. You can see plenty of motifs and carvings of Hanuman all around the sites of which some are brilliantly colourful.

And Hampi is not too far away from Badami, so why give it a miss, if you have the time. Hopping from the Chalukyan dynasty to the Vijayanagara Empire completes you journey into this time machine. Here every rock has a story to narrate. History comes alive at every nook and corner of Karnataka.Badami can be reached from Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mangalore and Mumbai by flight to Belagavi (IXG) and from there you can hire a cab. There are trains to Badami from Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. And buses you will find plenty.The landscape on the way to Badami is all spruced up and beautiful, if you vroom on your bikes/car from both Hyderabad or Bangalore. Give the wind an opportunity to play with your hair.Go, click some selfies on some filmy locations and make some memories to flaunt!"If You don't know History, then you don't know anything. You are a Leaf that doesn't know it is part of a Tree" - Micheal CrichtonCover Picture Credits: Wikipedia

Hampi town and the group of monuments at hampi as recognised by the UNESCO is spread over a very large area. We rented an auto for a day to visit these attractions covering monuments like Lotus Mahal, Elephant Stable, underground shiva temple, sasive kalu ganesha temple and many others. The auto drivers here could communicate comfortably in english and hindi (helps when you don't know the local language) and gave a brief history of each of the monuments.

The next day, we planned on checking out early, and crossing back to the mainland. As we waited for our boat to cross over, I bough some colourful and cute anklets for myself from the stalls that lined the road. One of my friends decided to buy himself some flowery and flowing shirts to appear more "hippy".When we crossed over to the other side, we got ourselves an auto who said he would show us around Hampi and take us to all the famous places. Our train back to Bangalore was only in the night, so we realized that this was the best plan for us.We went past famous land marks, some of which were being renovated.

The next day, we woke up, and headed to Gopi's cafe for breakfast. After a salad-y breakfast, we found someone who let us rent some mopeds to get around. We instantly mapped out a few places we could get around to. We found the route connecting us to the mainland from the island without having to go across the river.The first destination I had in mind was this place called the White Elephant. It was supposed to be a good cafe and a good 15-20 km away. The route leading to this cafe was beautiful to say the least. We stopped at several locations along the way to take some fun photos!

We stayed in a cottage right next to a paddy field. The setting sun always cast its last rays on the paddy fields giving it a warm glow. We had booked two rooms for 5 of us and the hosts warned us about wild animals roaming around at nights, especially sloth bears. The moment we reached, we were extremely hungry and we had spotted a nice cafe to eat, Gopi Island, on our way to our stay. We unpacked, freshened up quickly and walked back to Gopi Island to eat.The menu items in all the cafes in Hampi are almost the same. Organic salads, pastas, burgers, and sometimes pizza. The key word is organic. They are meant to be healthy and non-fatty.

Standing throughout the night, exhausted I was and so booked a cheap place at 03:00 AM adding a note that I'll be checking in by 08:00 AM. I didn't quite expect the keeper to be there waiting for me because I had booked at the Witching Hour! I took a quick nap to juice myself up after the tiresome journey and then headed to explore Hampi.I know there'll tons of people who'll say I could've taken a bus to Hospet and with a reserved seat that would have been much much better. Well, I know, and I didn't.I walked around the town, explored all the places, learnt a lot about the fascinating history of the place full of ruins and monuments that is spread across around 25 sqkm. Wait! Whaaaat! Amazing, right?

I took a bus from Bangalore to Hospet on the night of 4th August, around 11 p.m., and reached Hospet at 7 in the morning. I was swarmed by Auto drivers who offered to take me to Hampi for anything between 200-400 rupees (which is a short 8 km drive). I decided to walk down to the local bus stop and get a bus to Hampi from there. Buses deploy from Hospet to Hampi every half an hour, so I had to wait for 15 minutes to catch the 7:30 bus. It was just 13 rupees for the ticket.I got down at the Hampi bus stop, and could immediately see the overdose of culture and heritage this UNESCO World Heritage site had, and decided not to stay on here. Instead, I walked towards the Virupaksha temple, towards the Tungabhadra river site, and got on a ferry (which is 30 rupees per ride per person) and made it to the other side of the river to an island called the Virupapura Gadde (though it is famously known as Hippie Island).When you get on this island, people swarm you with offers to stay at their guest house or to rent a bike, but I walked through them to a small quiet guest house called 'Nargila' (a friend of mine who shares common travel goals with me suggested this place) and it was beautiful. I got a nice clean room for one night for 600 rupees, attached bath, and a hammock outside the room.I hadn't slept a lot from the bus ride in the night, so I decided to get some coffee and some food in me. Ganga (the caretaker at Nargila) got me some coffee and breakfast in the Nargila cafe which was right next to my room. They don't have the concept of chairs and tables in the cafe. Instead, you remove your shoes outside the cafe and there are mattresses on the floor on which you can sit.

Hampi can be visited any time of the year, but if you want to be bedazzled with colours of the culture, visit Hampi during January, because you can be a part of the celebrations at Hampi Utsav, a festival of bonhomie – a congregation of various events to highlight the glorious past of this empire. The cultural extravaganza is a spectacle to behold. It’s a three-day long carnival. Festivities include classical & traditional dance performances, skits and dramas, fireworks, puppet shows, and spectacular parades. Book your tickets accordingly.How to Reach Hampi:Hampi is 353 KMs from Bangalore and 74 KMs from Ballari in Karnataka. The nearest commercial Airport is Hubli/Bangalore. The nearest Railway Station is at Hospet which is 13 KMs away. Hampi has a number of resorts and home stays. There are direct trains and buses to Hospet from Goa, Hubli, Ballari, Hyderabad and Bangalore. Once you land in Hospet, you can check in at any Hotel there. Hospet is dotted with numerous Hotels, Star, Economy and budget.Hampi is at a distance of 13 KMs from Hospet and you have hourly buses which ply from Hospet Bus Station. Or you can hire three wheeler Autos. Equip yourself with a good quality camera, because what you see remains etched in your mind, but what you see should also be immortalized in pictures so that others, who cannot make it to Hampi, can at least enjoy it through your pictures.When in Hampi, don’t miss to see the following:Achyutaraya Temple,BadaviLingaElephant StableHazara rama Temple ComplexJain TempleLotus MahalVittala TempleVirupaksha TempleZanana EnclosureArchaeological Museum at KamalapuraTungabhadra Dam and Nandanavana GardenJapanese Garden at MunirabadHaving soaked yourself in the magic of the Hampi rocks, its time to meet the flowers and say hello to them. Tungabhadra Dam welcomes you with flowers at its Nandanavana Garden built on the lines of Brindavan Garden and on the other side of Tungabhadra Dam you have Munirabad with a Japanese Garden. Don’t miss it.

To explore only Hampi 2 days are enough.The hotel staff arranged auto for us we reached Hampi in 10min . After getting there we saw tourists riding mopeds and bicycles,we enquired about the rental they said only one shop is renting and unfortunately by the time we reached all bicycles and mopeds are hired out(be early for vehicles by 7a.m) shop is near virupakshi temple.It's about to be off season there and the weather was too sunny. Mostly 80 percent of the tourists were foreigners and the other side we find many restaurants and shops in narrow lanes and its called Hampi Bazaar. The food points are themed differently and the food is outstanding, the other side of tungabhadra river also we got plenty of eating out options.

Kolhapur, in Maharashtra, is a land of temples and regal palaces. The most revered of them is the Mahalaxmi Temple, which has a simple yet fascinating structure. Other temples here are the Temlabai temple, Jyotiba temple and the Bimkhambi Ganesh temple. The Shri Chhatrapati Shahu Museum, which was once the residence of the first Maharaja of the Maratha Empire, is a vivid display of artefacts representing the ancient history of the city. Take a walk through history at the Panhala Fort, which is an imposing fortification believed to have housed Chhatrapati Shivaji himself.
Kolhapur is known for its spicy array of Maharashtrian food. Try some of the local delicacies at Padma Guest House, Waman Guest House and Parakh. Being a bustling tourist destination, Kolhapur has a lot to offer when it comes to lodging for all types of budget travellers. Don't forget to take back the local Kolhapuri Chappals, that make for lovely traditional footwear. Read More

Kolhapur, in Maharashtra, is a land of temples and regal palaces. The most revered of them is the Mahalaxmi Temple, which has a simple yet fascinating structure. Other temples here are the Temlabai temple, Jyotiba temple and the Bimkhambi Ganesh temple. The Shri Chhatrapati Shahu Museum, which was once the residence of the first Maharaja of the Maratha Empire, is a vivid display of artefacts representing the ancient history of the city. Take a walk through history at the Panhala Fort, which is an imposing fortification believed to have housed Chhatrapati Shivaji himself.
Kolhapur is known for its spicy array of Maharashtrian food. Try some of the local delicacies at Padma Guest House, Waman Guest House and Parakh. Being a bustling tourist destination, Kolhapur has a lot to offer when it comes to lodging for all types of budget travellers. Don't forget to take back the local Kolhapuri Chappals, that make for lovely traditional footwear.

Now the D Day arrived it was 1st of Dec and I was sitting in my office preparing powerpoint presentation for the client instead of our roadtrip and celebrating our anniversary with my wife . My wife availed the leave as she had informed all her colleagues that we are going for the roadtrip and if she will go offc everyone will ask what happened. She was angry too and we didn’t talked in the morningMe : Hello, Happy AnniversaryWife : So ??? Do your offc work ( I can feel the Angriness on the other side of phone )Me : Lets continue our tripWife : How ????Me : Will travel in Night , pack the bags and be ready . We will start the journey once I reach home from OffcWife : Is it possible ?Me: Yes we will start today and cut short the journeyWife: YipppieMe: Ok, I will reach home by 4 will start soonSomehow pleaded to my manager that I will leave a bit early and he agreed. Now the wait was killing. Once the clock strike 3 30 PM I left office and was at home. When reached home found that the luggage is full ( Thanks to my wife who travels very heavy ) .Now there is no time to repack bags so we started from Pune by 5 PM with a good pace in chilling winter reached Kolhapur by 11 PM. Time to take rest in a pre-booked hotelNow another jolt of hammer, we informed the hotel earlier that we will be doing card payment, thanks to demonetisation we had only INR 6000 of hard cash. He agreed upon that but once we reached Kolhapur found that his swiping machine was not working as the internet is down ( Thanks to NHAI fellow who cut the broadband line while digging) and also he didn’t had any Paytm account. We tried for Online Transfer also but we failed. Now with no option left, we paid 2k to him in hard cash.Now the biggest question “Shall we return to Pune as we have only INR 4000 left”. Wife said will decide tomorrow morning as it’s already too late

The closest central place, to cover the spots, in Kolhapur one can visit Mahalakshmi Mandir, Binkhambi Ganesh Mandir, Shahu Place, Rankala Lake. Also you can visit famous Jyotiba temple which is hardly 26 Km from the place all places can be covered in 2 days span

From Kolhapur to Malvan it takes 5 hours. There are two routes to reach Malvan- via Gaganbawada ghat or via Radhanagri. We took the route via Radhanagri village. The road condition is good. But the route has lots of turns and swirls. We left from Kolhapur at 7.30am and reached Malvan at 1.30pm. On the way we stopped at Radhanagri for breakfast and at backwaters, a little ahead from Radhanagri near Anuradha village.

Best time to visit - January,February,June,July,August,September,November,December

A lovely city in the Konkan region of Maharashtra, Ratnagiri is a port city surrounded by the beautiful Sahyadri Hills. If this is your first time here, you'll be spoilt for choice.
Ganapatipule Beach makes for a great visit and is perfect for a leisurely afternoon. There is a Ganesh temple right next to the beach that is also worth a visit. The Ratnadurg or Bhagwati Fort, which is a beautiful structure constructed in a horseshoe shape, surrounded by the Arabian Sea, is also a beautiful place to check out. Thebaw Palace is another lovely touristy spot where the Burma King Thebaw was imprisoned. The palace is built in Pagoda style and is a must see. Bhatyachi Khadi is where the river meets the sea; the village near this place is Bhatye known as Bhatyachi Khadi.
If you're here from March to June, do pick up some juicy Alphonso mangoes that the city is famous for.
There are a lot of other scenic cities around Ratnagiri and depending on your mood, you can choose any of the cities to spend your vacations. Read More

A lovely city in the Konkan region of Maharashtra, Ratnagiri is a port city surrounded by the beautiful Sahyadri Hills. If this is your first time here, you'll be spoilt for choice.
Ganapatipule Beach makes for a great visit and is perfect for a leisurely afternoon. There is a Ganesh temple right next to the beach that is also worth a visit. The Ratnadurg or Bhagwati Fort, which is a beautiful structure constructed in a horseshoe shape, surrounded by the Arabian Sea, is also a beautiful place to check out. Thebaw Palace is another lovely touristy spot where the Burma King Thebaw was imprisoned. The palace is built in Pagoda style and is a must see. Bhatyachi Khadi is where the river meets the sea; the village near this place is Bhatye known as Bhatyachi Khadi.
If you're here from March to June, do pick up some juicy Alphonso mangoes that the city is famous for.
There are a lot of other scenic cities around Ratnagiri and depending on your mood, you can choose any of the cities to spend your vacations.

According to the inscriptions on clay tablets that were found during initial excavations at Ratnagiri in 1960s,this was a great center of learning for Tantric Buddhism and especially Vajrayana school.The clay tablets also mention it's name as 'Shri Ratnagiri Mahavihariya Arya Bhikshu Samaghya'.It was active between 5 th and 13 th century AD.Amid the scattered ruins at the hilltop are various votive stupas but it's the main monastery complex at the center which is miraculously preserved till date.The entrance gate to the main compound is made up of green chlorite stone with some intricate carvings which makes it distinct from other stones in the compound .As we stepped inside once again,stories ran in my head about monks and their activities that would have kept the place busy many centuries ago.
The various sized Buddha heads were aglow with the direct moonlight falling over them.What could the various head sizes signify? May be they were designed as various steps towards attaining the greatest wisdom,of becoming the perfect Buddha head. Ratnagiri has two large monasteries and right in the middle of it stands a large statue of Buddha which is flanked by the statues of Vajrapani and Padmapani,two Boddhisatvas. As you walk the periphery of the main compound,the highly advanced and intricate drainage system of the facility stuns you. The large monastic complex houses around twenty four cells for residence made up of bricks.At a given time,more than five hundred monks could have lived and studied at this center.The center also housed three copies each of major scriptural works of Mahayana and Hinayana Buddhism.
The Lama never talked,as if he had come only to quench my curiosity.But talking was not necessary,and I learned to appreciate the soothing beauty of quietness and silence.As I saw the diverse stone artefacts strewn all over the place I was reminded of what Tagore had told of the Konark Temple,that "here the language of stones had surpassed the language of man".Here too the stone works made the human need of language redundant.
Me: But when one speaks of Buddhist history or heritage,no one speaks in same breath about Odisha as they do about other sites like Bodh Gaya or Nalanda. Lama: As per texts and Buddhist chronicles found in Tibet,China and Ceylon,a place called 'Odiyyana' is mentioned where the roots of Vajrayana Buddhism took shape.This place in all probability could be the present day Odisha and the great learning centers of Tantric Buddhism they refer to could almost certainly be the Puspagiri University that we are currently standing at.The entire sect of Vajrayana Buddhism seems to have originated from these scholastic centers at Lalitgiri-Ratnagiri-Udaygiri complex if we take the available archeological and literary evidence into consideration. The old Buddhist Pali canons and Pas-Sam-Jon-Zang a Tibetan Buddhist text mention the land of Odiyyana where many great Tantric Buddhist preachers lived. The canons mention many secret places called 'Beyuls' where a seeker could go and find enlightenment and knowledge.Such Beyuls were hidden valleys and retreats often found in the Himalayan mountains of Tibet and India.The locations of these secret valleys were kept in scrolls which were placed in important monasteries and stupas.Sambhala is a well known beyul. Me: Just like James Hilton described the valley of Shangri-la in his book 'The Lost Horizon'? Lama: Hilton's story of Shangri-la was actually inspired from the myth of Sambhala itself.If you look closely the name Shangri-la is a modified form of Sambhala only. Me: Ah! Yes .....I never thought about it before,strange! And what role does Sambhala play in Tantric Buddhism? Lama: According to legends,the Tantric rituals of Kalachakratantra was taught to the Kings of Sambhala by Buddha himself.The kings of Sambhala wanted to follow the path of enlightenment without renouncing the world so they requested the Sakyamuni to teach them a less austere method of reaching Dharma and Truth,Buddha gave the first initiation of the Kalachakra rituals.Further a Tibetan text called 'The Blue Annals' credits Acharya Cheluka of bringing the teachings of Kalachakratantra to India from the mythical land of Sambhala. The philosophy that guides the school of Vajrayana Buddhism states that though the goal of all living beings is same i.e attaining knowledge and Nirvana,there are other methods of reaching there apart from the old methods of austere meditations. The tantric rituals can provide that path to salvation.
Me: So Vajrayana created a short-cut path to salvation,because the older methods of meditations were hard and time taking? Lama: Let's not be quick to judge the ways and methods people adopt in their lives.As each person is unique so is their path to salvation. As I mentioned before,our current lack of knowledge on Tantric Buddhist practices in these parts of Odisha comes to a road block due to the secretive doctrines of the people who followed the school of Vajrayana. The stroll in the lonely night had got us very far from Ratnagiri now.Perhaps the Lama was aware of it but I was far from realizing that we had stumbled upon the foothills of the grand ruins of Udaygiri.I was astonished because the journey in the daytime had taken a much longer .So far so good.Like Ratnagiri, the excavations at Udaygiri stand on a hill top which is spread over a much larger area and even during the day the hillside looks beautiful.As if someone has sprinkled those stone artifacts over the lush green rolling hills. I could see the moon's reflection in the deep well that stands at the foot of the hills.Stone staircases lead down to the well which was sparkling in the moon light.
In the same time as the monasteries at Ratnagiri,the facilities at Udaygiri had their peak time from 7 th century to 12 th century AD.The inscriptions found at the site refer to the name of the place being Madhavapura Mahavihara.Udaygiri has a large monastic complex amid it's ruins and among it's many relics the most interesting are the unearthed images of 'Dhyani Buddhas'. Not to miss out on details,the Lama showed me a stone carving on the entrance wall of the compound.Even in the moonlight,I could make out the figure.It was a human figure swinging on a rope with his eyes closed,in a prefect state of happiness.Nobody perhaps knows who or what the figure means,but may be it means exactly what the viewer feels by watching it,a sense of calm and bliss.A single piece of stone can speak to you across the length of ages.
On the hills of Udaygiri there exists a huge Mahastupa where four cardinal Buddhas sit facing each direction.Akshobya facing East,Amitabha facing West,Amoghasiddhi facing North and Ratnasambhava facing South. I returned to the conversation at hand.
Me: We were speaking of the Kalachakra tantra. And Kalachakra Tantra is one of the ritualistic practices of Vajrayana Buddhism? I saw the initiation ceremony last summer at Leh by the Dalai Lama. Lama: The Kalachakra Tantra is the most evolved and complicated form of Vajrayana school.Even today it is considered as one of the highest form of Tantric philosophy.Apart from the sect of Vajrayana itself,the Kalachakra Tantra may have it's roots in Odisha. 'Kala' means time,'chakra' means wheel and 'tantra' means a system.This tantric practice in Buddhism is based on the concept of Time and how we perceive it.Almost all religions and schools of philosophy consider time to be cyclic in nature,so does Tantric Buddhism but it differentiates the time cycles into three parts.The internal cycle,the external cycle and the alternative cycle. Internal and external cycles are passage of time as we perceive it.Just like modern science,Buddhism considers time to be a measurement of rate of change of things around us. Me: This is very interesting indeed.What are these internal,external and alternative time cycles according to Kalachakratantra? Lama: As I said before the external and internal cycles are time as we human beings perceive it. For example the change of moon's shape and location in sky denote the monthly lunar cycle which can be considered as external time perception.Similarly the menstrual cycle of a woman's body is an example of internal time perception.The alternative time cycle is a way taught by the teachers of Kalachakra to gain harmony over the internal and external time cycles. So this summer in Leh,when you saw the Dalai Lama initiate the Kalachakra rituals,he was paving the way for gaining harmony over the influence of time. Me: The Buddha himself never came to the land of Kalinga to teach or give sermons? Lama: Though there is no direct evidence of Buddha coming to Kalinga or preaching here,but places and their names have been a shifting entity on the pages of history. The 1st Khandaka of Mahavagga text in Buddhism confirms that two honey traders from Odisha named Tapassu and Bhallika were the first lay disciples of Buddha after he achieved enlightenment under the Bodhi tree.They offered honey cakes to Buddha after receiving teachings from him. Me: Not only the tantric sects but the entire Hindu pantheon seems to have assimilated Buddhism in current times.I have seen Buddhist images like Avalokotisvara,Tara,Yaksas etc in many Hindu temples especially in Odisha. Lama: Later during awakenings of Vaishnavite and Bhakti sects in medieval India,the all encompassing arm of Hinduism took Buddhism into it's fold and many considered Buddha as 9th incarnation of Bishnu.This happened in complete paradox of the fact that Buddhism became famous in ancient India when people revolted to some degree to the Brahmanical-Vedic orthodoxy in society.In current age,images of Dhyani Buddha has been found in the de-plastered walls of Puri's Jagannath Temple. The Asokan rock edicts and the stone carved elephant at Dhauli are the earliest evidence of Buddhism's presence in Odisha.A very similar rock cut elephant has been found in the excavations of relics near Kaima in Jajpur district.As per records ,even a stupa existed near the rock edicts at Dhauli until 19 th century which was lost to time later on.
A Prakrit inscription in Nagarjunakonda confirms that 'Puspagiri' in Odisha along with Nalanda ,Tosali and Palur were great centers of Buddhist learning and scholastic traditions.There are even speculations that the Buddhist preacher Padmasambhava else known as Guru Rinpoche spent some time studying and contemplating in these hills of Odisha.Guru Rinpoche is credited with taking Buddhism to many Himalayan kingdoms as Tibet,Sikkim and Bhutan.
The figures of Buddhist iconography such as Boddhisatvas,mandalas,images of Tara,fourteen forms of the Avalokotiswara,many Yakshas and Yakshinis that are spread through coastal Odisha and some western parts just goes to confirm that Buddhism had a stronghold in the land and helped in the propagation of the sect to far off lands beyond India.
Me: I had never pondered on the idea that Odisha had such a substantial contribution to the rise and propagation of Buddhism in India and elsewhere.When I used to visit those monasteries and lamaseries in remote Himalayan valleys of Ladakh and Himachal,I never thought my home state would have played such a grand role in the epic narrative of Buddhism. Lama: I will once again go back to Tagore to illustrate my point....he once said that "though I traveled great many countries and visited far off lands from my home,I forgot to see the beautiful dew drop outside my window". I suppose you understand what he meant by that. Me: Yes dear Teacher,I most surely do.I always have it in mind that though I am out to explore the world I shall know my home land up close and thoroughly.Only when resident Odias have knowledge of their rich cultural heritage and past,rest of the world will slowly know too.I suppose I realize that. Lama: A Teacher is only as good as the pupil he is teaching....the more thirsty a student is,the better a teacher becomes.Now that you have accepted me as a teacher,will you do a small favor to these old bones? Me: What may I ask? Lama: Nothing,just a ride along the road till we get to the oldest of the three sites in the Diamond Triangle. So with the chilly winter wind against us.A young man and an old lama were riding on through deserted roads to Lalitgiri which is 8-9 kms down the road from the sites of Ratnagiri and Udaygiri.While on the road, we found an old couple whose vehicle had broken down and we stopped to help them out.The desperate old faces heaved a sigh of relief when the lama and me got down to give a hand to the broken down car.While the lama took the wheel,I was at the engine part.A small battery problem which was sorted out quickly and we bid farewell to the old man and woman who were repeating 'thank you's' till we got embarrassed.
It must have been the last quarter of the long moonlit night,when we arrived at Lalitgiri. It was at this site,that tooth relics and bone relics were found in a stone casket.The bones and tooth were in a charred or half burnt condition and many consider them to belong to Buddha himself,but nobody can be sure.The Buddhist iconography and sculptures found scattered in these parts are highly esoteric in nature.More than fourteen forms of Avalokotisvaras have been found in Odisha and many have been unearthed here.No other place in India displays such variety in artifacts.
Lalitgiri was the place where Tantric Buddhism was prevalent from around 300 BC to 13 th century AD.And hence it is considered as the oldest of the sites at Langudi hills. The terracotta inscriptions found here mention this place as 'Sri Chandraditya Vihara Samagra Arya Bhiksu Sanghasa'.
Images of Buddha in various poses,images of Tara and other beings, sculptures of Avalokotisvara and many forms of Boddhisatvas,all strewn over the places and excavation is still going on. The old lama once again takes my hand to show something particular, an image of a woman breastfeeding a child.
Me: Who is she? Lama: Her name is Hariti and she used to be a child lifter before Buddha persuaded her to become the protector of children.To be a mother to all those who do not have that privilege. Apart from four large monasteries at Lalitgiri,the major attraction is an apsidal ChaityaGruha or stupa completely made of bricks.
After circulating the large stupa and prayer hall I walked over the slope to watch a glorious sight that people in today's age take for granted.I watched the sun climb slowly over the horizon and change the color of the sky.The sun has been doing this for ages,but still we find the sight ethereal.May be because our lives depend on it.May be because we know our time on this earth is limited and it would be a sin to miss out on such splendid and yet so simple views.
I expected the lama to say something about that divine view,but as I turned around, he was not to be found.Morning always brings a change but this was something I had not expected.I searched all over the place and called him out but to no avail.My teacher had disappeared just as easily as he had appeared back in Ratnagiri hill top.I climbed down the slopes near the ruins to see if the old man would be waiting near the bike.But nothing.The last I saw him was when he sat down on the big rock under the huge tree. Perhaps more than surprised,I was disappointed,may be even a tad angry. There were no proper goodbyes and no parting words.
This was the end of the line.The long night where we both contemplated on the ruins of the Diamond Triangle had come to a passé.As fog clutched the countryside I rode my bike alone back on the road to Ratnagiri in faint hope of finding the old lama somewhere waiting for me.Has he landed in some trouble?I was agitated and raced back.
While on the road,the night flashed before me and all those images of the past swarmed past me.The ruins on these hills nearby had taken a shape in my mind.A heritage of the rich past of this land and a promise for the future times.My mind swam at the disappearance of the old lama.I was in distress because I knew I was too realistic a person to believe in phantom lamas who came and went as they pleased.
Atleast someone I knew appeared on the foot of Ratnagiri hilltop.The old couple sipping tea at the road side tea stall smiled at me when I stopped my bike.They quickly offered me a hot cup of tea and only then I realized how bitterly cold the morning air was.
Trying very hard to hide my anxiety, I just asked-"Have you seen the old man who was with me last night? I am afraid I lost him somewhere".
The old lady looked at me and then at her husband.
"The poor old man.He must be having trouble trying to find me....he was all alone", I added. Between the old woman changing her face from being aghast to a funny smile on her lips,the old man said,"Which old man?You were all alone last night when you stopped to help us".
Taking the cup in my hands, I looked away.I tried very hard to recall the last words of the old lama.
Soumya D Jena 10th March 2017This post was originally published on The Lost Hermit.

View from train, Konkan railway passes through most amazing ghats of India. It was joyful ride. But when we dropped at thivim station it was extremely hot and tourists do complained about it. But this was my third trip to Goa and I knew the fun awaits here.

In my quest to travel and experience new destinations and places I decided to travel towards the Konkan highway this time. Being a Delhite the lure of the mountains is so much that you seldom make plans doing random trips towards Maharashtra. So here I was on my journey again with a few tips on the internet – stay, weather and travel distances was all that I was armored with. My SLR slung on my shoulders to take on yet another journey of its own.My destination – Romancing the Konkan highway with no real agenda – Just to experience it the way it is! The cities that draped the highway. The beautiful coastline. Lush green paddy fields and much more. I got on to a hired car from Mumbai and set off towards Ratnagiri – a commercial town by the seaside. 7 -8 drive from Mumbai and you land up in at a beautiful destination – The journey had its own experience –Driving through Ghats and quaint little villages. The coastline villages and the homes are so very different from the ones you see in the north – Lush green and brightly colored. The cuisine on the way was interesting from Poha breakfast to fish Thalis at the local eating joints.

The most scenic leg of the journey. Sea on one side Green mountains on the other. Located on the same MH SH 4, Ganpatipule stretch is something i will remember my whole life. It was like the movie perfect scene. All along the route I could see the virgin beaches where one could spend countless hours relaxing. Unfortunately we were running short of sunlight so we have to rush through this stretch and hence didn't get chance to click many pics.

Ratnagiri is just another town situated along the beautiful Goa-Bombay road. Goa-Bombay road is one of the best roads I've been to. All the green on both side and the awesome monsoon weather is just superb. Riding on MH SH 4 from Ratnagiri to Jaigad is a different experience alltogether. The scenic beauty is simply mesmerizing. Be careful while riding on this route though there wold not be any traffic but there will be numerous green snakes crossing the road.

Best time to visit - January,February,March,April,May,October,November,December

Of panoramic views, perennial waterfalls and picturesque landscapes, Mahabaleshwar stands out as the largest and most popular hill station in the Western Ghats. Owing to comfortable temperatures, Mahabaleshwar is thronged by tourists throughout the year, except during the four months of heavy monsoons from June to September.
Being the erstwhile summer capital of the Bombay presidency during the British Raj, this place has a lot to offer — spectacular sunrise and sunset viewpoints, popular one-day treks to go on, and boating at the Venna Lake. Additionally, tourists can retrospect history at the centuries-old Pratapgad Fort and savour some toothsome jams and marmalades at the Mapro Garden.
One must not miss out on the famous corn patties and strawberry cream when in Mahabaleshwar. Should you visit in March, you will be lucky to witness the gastronomically delightful Strawberry Festival that takes place every year. Plan a weekend getaway to this hill station and you will be impressed. Read More

Of panoramic views, perennial waterfalls and picturesque landscapes, Mahabaleshwar stands out as the largest and most popular hill station in the Western Ghats. Owing to comfortable temperatures, Mahabaleshwar is thronged by tourists throughout the year, except during the four months of heavy monsoons from June to September.
Being the erstwhile summer capital of the Bombay presidency during the British Raj, this place has a lot to offer — spectacular sunrise and sunset viewpoints, popular one-day treks to go on, and boating at the Venna Lake. Additionally, tourists can retrospect history at the centuries-old Pratapgad Fort and savour some toothsome jams and marmalades at the Mapro Garden.
One must not miss out on the famous corn patties and strawberry cream when in Mahabaleshwar. Should you visit in March, you will be lucky to witness the gastronomically delightful Strawberry Festival that takes place every year. Plan a weekend getaway to this hill station and you will be impressed.

Mahabaleshwar - The very name evokes the beauty of the region - lush green forests and the mountain range of the western ghats. Quite a number of scenes of Baahubali were shot here.A small piece of advice:Now that you have seen all the places where Baahubali was shot, now go see the movie again. The thrill of having seen the sets and the places where it was shot, makes watching the movie again even more magical.Relive the magical moments of Baahubali!Cover picture credits:https://www.google.co.in/search?q=ramoji+film+city+bahubali+sets&rlz=1C1CHBF_enIN747IN748&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjny73k8rvWAhUEOY8KHaiwBzEQ_AUICigB&biw=1366&bih=662#imgrc=XTqs_Zzv2V61dM:

it was around 10 o'clock in the morning and we reached Mahabaleshwar. we stayed at Hira Baug resort panchgani, okay so it is a little far from town but trust me the view you get from here is worth it! charges are variable so if you wish to go there then please google its price or contact them directly. had lunch over there and then i went to sleep as i traveled for 16 hours, and ya lunch was good! after 3 hours of sleep i woke up at 4:00 pm and then left resort to explore Mahabaleshwar! i don't know how but sunset was early so as soon i reached Venna lake there was about to sunset, so what i did was just set down near to the lake and enjoyed that beautiful sunset! it was wonderful, the silent water that kids playing around and that cold weather makes it perfect! then i left for Mahabaleshwar market. it was usual market surrounded with some stuff and all. yes do not forget to try strawberry with cream! if you like strawberry then you will love it as Mahabalehswar is capital of strawberry! then i left for my resort as i was hungry, i had my dinner and went to sleep.

The clouds were at the level of our eye line at our entry(made at night time) to Mahabaleshwar which proved to be an amazing sight.Next day we were off to discover the beauty of this marvel that we made our visit to. Mahabaleshwar certainly has one of the best hills in all of Maharashtra if not the best. The multi-colored impression the hills give are something to look out to.

Located in Maharashtra, Mahabaleshwar is a gorgeous hill station, with hanging clouds and covered in mist, wrapped in a lush green wild. With a rich princely legacy reflected in colonial era architecture that earmarks the town, Mahabaleshwar has a charming appeal. The town’s scenic beauty is enthralling, being the base of five rivers, nestled in magnificent Western Ghats. With spectacular view of the sunrise and sunset, trekking trails, horse riding paths and boating in the rivers, Mahabaleshwar offers a meditative ambience, the perfect weekend getaway and thereby one of the best places to visit in India in May.How to get there: Well-connected by road from Pune, which also has the nearest airport. The nearest railway station is Wathar.

One of the best places for a weekend getaway would have to be Mahabaleshwar. The large plateau is surrounded by valleys on all four sides. It is among the best picnic spots situated near Pune. What adds to its charm? The lush evergreen forests and beautiful imagery. Legend has it that Mahadev temple is located where the River Krishna originates. A boat ride down Vienna Lake is definitely worth your time. Pratapgarh Fort is another historical place of significance one can visit. Strawberries and resorts is a luxury resort at Mahabaleshwar that is located amidst valleys that grow strawberries. The place is modern with all the amenities that one can ask for. It is a great place to rush off to for the weekend with your family. So be wise and try this out.Distance from Pune: 121 Km

We expected to take a ferry, but there was none. So we had to take this long along-the-river road. The road above the river is full of red sand. It required high levels of patience to ride this. More than 50 minutes, the road was all red with up and down slopes of red sand. I was sure, the bike would skid at some place, but it didnt. I must be a good rider. What was worse was the incoming trucks loaded with more red sand and blowing the dust in the air. Siddi was all red when we reached the bridge crossing.

7. Mahabaleshwar:Once the summer capital of the Bombay province, Mahabaleshwar is a plateau that is surrounded by valleys on all sides, and offers stunning vistas of the lush greenery it is surrounded by. It is also known for being the birthplace of the river Krishna, along with 6 other rivers. One can also make day trips to Raigad, Pratapgad, Wai, Lingmala waterfalls and the Venna lake. Located at 160 and 260 kms from Bombay and Pune respectively, Mahabaleshwar is one of the ideal places to visit in Spring season in India.

The seven hills surrounding Satara give this picturesque district its name. Home to the popular Panchgani and Mahableshwar, Satara in Maharashtra is perfect for a rejuvenation holiday.
If you are here for a holiday, do visit the scenic Kaas Plateau overlooking the Kaas Lake. Though it is a popular spot, you may be disappointed with the lack of good eating places. It's best to head here after breakfast. Another wonderful tourist spot is the Thoseghar Waterfalls. Located about 25 km from Satara, these lovely waterfalls offer the most stunning views during monsoon. Also the highest waterfall in Maharashtra, Thoseghar should definitely be on your itinerary.
If you have more time, then head to the village of Bamnoli, located 50 km away, where you can enjoy boating in the Shivsagar Lake.
There are tons of places to visit in Satara district so do choose your destinations in accordance to the kind of holiday you'd like to take. Read More

The seven hills surrounding Satara give this picturesque district its name. Home to the popular Panchgani and Mahableshwar, Satara in Maharashtra is perfect for a rejuvenation holiday.
If you are here for a holiday, do visit the scenic Kaas Plateau overlooking the Kaas Lake. Though it is a popular spot, you may be disappointed with the lack of good eating places. It's best to head here after breakfast. Another wonderful tourist spot is the Thoseghar Waterfalls. Located about 25 km from Satara, these lovely waterfalls offer the most stunning views during monsoon. Also the highest waterfall in Maharashtra, Thoseghar should definitely be on your itinerary.
If you have more time, then head to the village of Bamnoli, located 50 km away, where you can enjoy boating in the Shivsagar Lake.
There are tons of places to visit in Satara district so do choose your destinations in accordance to the kind of holiday you'd like to take.

This beautiful weekend destination is located right where the River Krishna joins its tributary called Venna. This place was the erstwhile capital of the powerful Maratha Empire. This little city should interest history buffs as there are a number of places of historical relevance to visit. Most of the heritage sites and other cultural hubs are the reason why tourists come here for a relaxing weekend. The weather is good throughout the year for a lovely picnic with family and friends. To experience one of the best weekend getaways from Pune within 200 Km, make a visit to Satara. Once known to be the capital of the powerful Maratha Empire, Satara stands at the meeting point of the Krishna River and Venna, its tributary. It is the monuments here that draw in the tourists in droves and one is sure to have a great time here. The Vajrai waterfalls, and the forts Sajjangarh and Ajinkyatara are places one cannot miss here and the Kass Plateau is one of nature’s wonders to behold here in Satara. July to February is when one should visit this wonderful place. Around 112 kilometres away from Pune, Satara is full of surprise packages that one should visit in order to unravel. Take your pick from the list above of some of the best places to visit near Pune within 100 km.Distance from Pune: 113 Km

As I reached Satara it became even worse - the mad traffic and the road, and finally reached Pune at 8 pm. It was so nice to see my favorite Mama and Mami. Went for local Pune ride the next day and found myself like AK in PK. No one was following traffic rules, no helmets, no rules nothing. Saw people staring at me for following regulations. While coming back from MG road a guy in Merc was shouting at me for waiting for traffic light to turn green. Educated illiterate eh!? Spent the next two days in Pune and got much needed rest and most needed sleep. Running short of time, energy and most importantly money I decided to skip Mumbai and head to Goa. On 29th Dec left for Panchagani and Mahabaleswar. Visited Ganapati Temple in Wai and started climbing the hill. Reached the next destination by 11 am. Spent some time in city and at various places and left for Ratnagari. Joined Mumbai–Goa highway and reached the city of mangoes by 6 pm and stayed there for the night.

In the evening we started for Mahabaleshwar... Next day was fully dedicated to Mahabaleshswar. Visit to Mahabaleshwar Temple was quite ok. The highlight was after that. We reached one of the view point in old Mahabaleshwar. There was nothing to see the whole area was covered with fog. On reaching there in the jungle we saw the whole heard on Indian Bison. They were so big ab majestic and looking great......

Our initial target for the day was Pune (845 kms from Bangalore), but since we got delayed and we didn’t want to ride through the night, we decided to stay at a place called Satara. Pune was still a good 100 kms away. After a bit of hunting, we found a decent hotel right on the highway and we were settled in. I slept like a baby that night!Day 1 Stay: Hotel Mahindra Executive, SataraPros: Decent Staff. Good Food. Right on the highway.Cons: Small rooms. Slightly pricy.Few Pointers: Start as early as you can. Make note that you need time to pack the luggage onto the bikes. Always keep spare bungee cords. Also thoroughly wrap your luggage with tarpaulin. NH4 has relatively fewer fuel stations, so keep this in mind when you’re running low. The hotels in Satara have something called permit rooms, which people rent to host alcohol parties. This can get pretty ugly with an unruly crowd. So please check thoroughly before you zero in.DAY 2:Satara – Mumbai (270 kms):We were all pretty beat from riding all day long, so we slept in even though we had planned to leave early. After having some yum MisalPav andPoha for breakfast, we were ready to leave by 9AM. Now we had the horrendous task of loading the luggage and wrapping it with tarpaulin. It was only Day 2 and I was already fed up with the wrapping and unwrapping of tarpaulin. It is such a tedious task.Anyway, we finally managed to leave by 10AM. The road from here is great, and the view is out of this world. The route is surrounded by the Western Ghats. This beauty is mesmerizing all year round, but during the monsoons she has an outer worldly charm. Serene, calm and soothing. What a refreshing start to the day.

It was during this time of the month that there was a festival in Canacona town that had a 2 km long procession of people on the road blocking the only highway to Bangalore. Our bus left at 6 PM, and at 1 AM the next day, we were still in Goa, stuck on the highway.My friend and I got out, saw that 12 other buses and other vehicles were stranded on the road with no access to a washroom or restaurant. Someone had allowed the people to let their procession onto the road illegally. Since I had worked previously at RedFM and NDTV, I managed to get the ACP of Goa on the phone. He blabbered something about his superior giving the go-ahead and I gave him a mouthful and a peace of my mind. It was my friend and I who drove the police to move the people out of the way so that the buses could continue.Finally, at around 2:15 AM, we managed to get the buses moving with every driver thanking me along the way. I had verbally yelled at the ACP enough for him to turn off his phone for the entire night. We got onto the bus, told the driver that he needed to drive his best. Because of how tired we were, we dozed off instantly. The next morning at 7 AM, we were miraculously in Bangalore! This is one of those few moments in a lifetime that I am immensely proud of. As a journalist, I felt I'd done my duty. I had even sat in one of the police cars and told them I wouldn't leave until they cleared the road for us. Believe it or not, that's what finally worked!As much as we didn't touch the usual in Goa, it felt complete. I'd spent years looking at beaches in Goa, but never had a chance to explore the underrated. And this time, I did it. It felt absolutely complete. But, a few days after reaching back, I realized that there's a whole lot more I hadn't discovered. And that's something I did on my next trip to Goa, but more on that next time!Here's a short compilation of one of my trips to Goa! Please like, share, and subscribe! Read More

It was during this time of the month that there was a festival in Canacona town that had a 2 km long procession of people on the road blocking the only highway to Bangalore. Our bus left at 6 PM, and at 1 AM the next day, we were still in Goa, stuck on the highway.My friend and I got out, saw that 12 other buses and other vehicles were stranded on the road with no access to a washroom or restaurant. Someone had allowed the people to let their procession onto the road illegally. Since I had worked previously at RedFM and NDTV, I managed to get the ACP of Goa on the phone. He blabbered something about his superior giving the go-ahead and I gave him a mouthful and a peace of my mind. It was my friend and I who drove the police to move the people out of the way so that the buses could continue.Finally, at around 2:15 AM, we managed to get the buses moving with every driver thanking me along the way. I had verbally yelled at the ACP enough for him to turn off his phone for the entire night. We got onto the bus, told the driver that he needed to drive his best. Because of how tired we were, we dozed off instantly. The next morning at 7 AM, we were miraculously in Bangalore! This is one of those few moments in a lifetime that I am immensely proud of. As a journalist, I felt I'd done my duty. I had even sat in one of the police cars and told them I wouldn't leave until they cleared the road for us. Believe it or not, that's what finally worked!As much as we didn't touch the usual in Goa, it felt complete. I'd spent years looking at beaches in Goa, but never had a chance to explore the underrated. And this time, I did it. It felt absolutely complete. But, a few days after reaching back, I realized that there's a whole lot more I hadn't discovered. And that's something I did on my next trip to Goa, but more on that next time!Here's a short compilation of one of my trips to Goa! Please like, share, and subscribe!

For every teetotaller and loner, Vagator is completely the wrong option. Instead, disappear from the madness and crowd to the southern side for serenity at Canacona Beach. A perfect place to spend some time in solitude!

Peak Season is from mid-November to mid- February when the weather is comfortable, cool and pleasant.

Shoulder Season: Mid-June to October is when Goa is at its most beautiful. The rains come down on the state during these months and while the countryside becomes a lush green, the clubs start brimming with people and raging parties.

Off-season: This is the time between March to May, when the temperatures soar and the prices of the hotels and homestays drop. This is the time to visit Goa if you are looking for some quiet days, away from the touristy crowds.

When in India’s sunshine state, be prepared to fall in love with sandy beaches, palm-fringed shores and beachfront Portuguese bungalows. Goa will never fail to entice you with its landscapes peppered with paddy fields, coconut groves, windy cliffs and riverside forts. While the southern part of the state is a haven for tourists seeking quiet days spent by the tranquil seaside, northern Goa tourism is known primarily because of its bustling shacks and a legendary nightlife.
From the umpteen number of places to visit in Goa, a few that most definitely shouldn’t be missed are the Fontainhas – India’s only existing Latin quarters, the 17th century old Bom Jesus Basilica; to revel in a little bohemian spirit, the vibrant Wednesday flea market at Anjuna Beach, and Dudhsagar – India’s second highest waterfall. But if you’re here simply to unwind, there’s no dearth of things to enjoy. Starting with spotting a dolphin or two at the Palolem beach, marveling at the routinely glorious sunsets at Chapora fort, taking leisurely strolls through the mossy ruins of St. Augustine in Old Goa or simply soaking in the salty tropical breeze with platefuls of butter garlic prawns, bebinca and a few too many rum and cokes, with a side of jazz and Konkani music